Best Places36527, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 36527, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
36527 ranks 5,796th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 36527
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.
36527's strengths and weaknesses
Where 36527 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Household income$117,227 median, better than 89% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 36527 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 36% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 36527
A household needs to earn about $98,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 36527 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $117,227, 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 36527'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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 36527
36527 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 36527.
Who works in 36527, and how
Work in 36527 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 36527
36527 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of zip codes. The coast is about 7 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 36527 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 36527, month by month
36527 sees roughly 139 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 51° | 42° |
| April | 77° | 66° | 56° |
| July | 89° | 80° | 74° |
| October | 81° | 69° | 60° |
Flying in and out of 36527
The nearest airport, Mobile International, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 150 miles away.
The best schools in and around 36527
Schools across 36527 average a B+, better than 76% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Spanish Fort Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Rockwell Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- J Larry Newton SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Spanish Fort Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- W J Carroll Intermediate SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Bay Minette Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Spanish Fort High SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Daphne High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Baldwin County High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 36527 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
36527 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 36527 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 36527
Is 36527 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 36527 ranks 5,796th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, low property taxes, and an educated workforce, and lowest on disaster risk and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 36527 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $402,433. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $117,227 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 36527 safe?
Yes, 36527 is safer than 57% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $274 per resident a year.
Compare 36527 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 36527. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 36527 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.
36527 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 36527: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 36527: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 36527: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 36527: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
36527 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.