Best Places36555, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 36555, 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.
36555 ranks 22,611th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 36555
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.
36555's strengths and weaknesses
Where 36555 ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$619 a month, better than 84% of zip codes
Where 36555 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Short commute31.0 minutes each way, better than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 36555
A household needs to earn about $94,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 36555 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $59,977, 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 36555's effective rate of 0.26%, 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 36555
36555 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 36555.
Who works in 36555, and how
Work in 36555 centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 36555
The coast is about 10 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 36555, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 36555, month by month
36555 sees roughly 119 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 36555
The nearest airport, Mobile International, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 151 miles away.
The best schools in and around 36555
Schools across 36555 average a C−, better than 25% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Magnolia SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top middle schools
- Foley Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Foley High SchoolC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 36555 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
36555 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 36555 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 36555
Is 36555 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 36555 ranks 22,611th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low property taxes, a strong job market, and state infrastructure, 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 36555 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $388,526. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $59,977 median income, cost of living beats 28% of zip codes.
Is 36555 safe?
36555 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $275 per resident a year.
Compare 36555 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 36555. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 36555 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.
36555 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 36555: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 36555: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 36555: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 36555: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
36555 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.