Best Places35950, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 35950, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
35950 ranks 20,996th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 35950
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
35950's strengths and weaknesses
Where 35950 ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$531 a month, better than 92% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Short commute21.4 minutes each way, better than 79% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 35950 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 35950
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 35950 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,709, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 35950's effective rate of 0.32%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 35950
35950 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 35950.
Who works in 35950, and how
Work in 35950 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 35950
35950 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 87% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 35950 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 35950, month by month
35950 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 42° | 35° |
| April | 72° | 61° | 51° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 74° | 63° | 54° |
Flying in and out of 35950
The nearest airport, Huntsville International-Carl T Jones Field, is about 41 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 112 miles away.
The best schools in and around 35950
Schools across 35950 average a C−, better than 20% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cherokee Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Boaz Intermediate SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Albertville Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Guntersville Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Boaz Middle SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Albertville Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Guntersville High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Albertville High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Douglas High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 35950 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
35950 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 35950 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 35950 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 4% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 35950
Is 35950 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 35950 ranks 20,996th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low property taxes, affordable childcare, and state infrastructure, and lowest on education levels and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 35950 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $177,831. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $62,709 median income, cost of living beats 42% of zip codes.
Is 35950 safe?
35950 is safer than 32% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $369 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 35950?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 35. That works out to about 91 pleasant days a year, more than 56% of zip codes.
Is 35950 good for families?
Schools beat 20% of zip codes, crime safety beats 32%, and childcare runs $531 a month.
Compare 35950 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 35950. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 35950 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
35950 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 35950: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 35950: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 35950: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 35950: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
35950 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.