Best Places36604, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 36604, 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.
36604 ranks 25,468th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 36604
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.
36604's strengths and weaknesses
Where 36604 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 87% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 36604 ranks low
- School gradeD−, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 36604
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 36604 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $72,662; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 36604's effective rate of 0.46%, 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 36604
36604's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 36604.
Who works in 36604, and how
Work in 36604 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 36604
36604 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 97% of zip codes. The coast is about 5 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 36604 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 36604, month by month
36604 sees roughly 104 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 52° | 43° |
| April | 78° | 69° | 60° |
| July | 92° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 83° | 72° | 63° |
Flying in and out of 36604
The nearest airport, Mobile International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 139 miles away.
The best schools in and around 36604
Schools across 36604 average a D−, better than 3% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Leinkauf Elementary SchoolD · 16% proficient
- Erwin Craighead Elementary SchoolF · 10% proficient
- Florence Howard Elementary SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top middle schools
- Calloway Smith Middle SchoolF · 11% proficient
- Booker T Washington Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Murphy High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
- Lillie B Williamson High SchoolF · 6% proficient
- Ben C Rain High SchoolF · 4% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 36604 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
36604 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 36604 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 36604
Is 36604 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 36604 ranks 25,468th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, fast internet, and state infrastructure, and lowest on the schools and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 36604 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $300,729. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $72,662 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 36604 safe?
36604 is safer than 4% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $772 per resident a year.
Compare 36604 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 36604. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 36604 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.
36604 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 36604: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 36604: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 36604: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 36604: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
36604 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.