Best Places36528, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 36528, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
36528 ranks 20,665th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 36528
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.
36528's strengths and weaknesses
Where 36528 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 85% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 36528 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Short commute32.6 minutes each way, better than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 36528
A household needs to earn about $110,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 36528 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $68,219, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 36528's effective rate of 0.36%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 36528
36528 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 36528.
Who works in 36528, and how
Work in 36528 centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 36528
36528 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of zip codes. The coast is about 1 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 36528 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 36528, month by month
36528 sees roughly 118 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 50° | 42° |
| April | 75° | 66° | 57° |
| July | 87° | 80° | 73° |
| October | 79° | 68° | 60° |
Flying in and out of 36528
The nearest airport, Mobile International, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 129 miles away.
The best schools in and around 36528
Schools across 36528 average a C, better than 40% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Dauphin Island Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Peter F Alba Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Alma Bryant High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 36528 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
36528 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 36528 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 36528
Is 36528 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 36528 ranks 20,665th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, low property taxes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on disaster risk and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 36528 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $446,063. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $68,219 median income, cost of living beats 30% of zip codes.
Is 36528 safe?
Yes, 36528 is safer than 65% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $246 per resident a year.
Compare 36528 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 36528. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 36528 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.
36528 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 36528: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 36528: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 36528: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 36528: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
36528 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.