Best Places36278, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 36278, 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.
36278 ranks 25,746th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 36278
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.
36278's strengths and weaknesses
Where 36278 ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$549 a month, better than 91% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 36278 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 36278
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 36278 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,037, 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 36278's effective rate of 0.23%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 36278
36278 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 36278.
Who works in 36278, and how
Work in 36278 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 36278
36278 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 36278 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 36278, month by month
36278 sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 45° | 36° |
| April | 76° | 63° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 78° | 65° | 55° |
Flying in and out of 36278
The nearest airport, Columbus, is about 66 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 66 miles away.
The best schools in and around 36278
Schools across 36278 average a D+, better than 11% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pleasant Grove Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Woodland Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Wedowee Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wedowee Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Cleburne County High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Randolph County High SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Woodland High SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 36278 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
36278 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 36278 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 36278
Is 36278 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 36278 ranks 25,746th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low property taxes, affordable childcare, and state infrastructure, and lowest on internet speeds and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 36278 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $255,152. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $66,037 median income, cost of living beats 36% of zip codes.
Is 36278 safe?
36278 is safer than 35% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $351 per resident a year.
Compare 36278 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 36278. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 36278 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.
36278 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 36278: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 36278: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 36278: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 36278: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
36278 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.