Best Places36609, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 36609, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
36609 ranks 27,635th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Disaster risk pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in 36609
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.
36609's strengths and weaknesses
Where 36609 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$619 a month, better than 84% of zip codes
Where 36609 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Household income$54,599 median, better than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 36609
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 36609 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,599, 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 36609's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 36609
36609'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 36609.
Who works in 36609, and how
Work in 36609 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 36609
36609 has more parkland per resident than 80% of zip codes. The coast is about 12 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 36609 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 36609, month by month
36609 sees roughly 92 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 51° | 39° |
| April | 80° | 67° | 55° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 74° |
| October | 84° | 70° | 59° |
Flying in and out of 36609
The nearest airport, Mobile Regional, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 133 miles away.
The best schools in and around 36609
Schools across 36609 average a C, better than 38% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kate Shepard Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Er Dickson Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Olive J Dodge Elementary SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Denton Magnet School Of TechnologyB+ · 50% proficient
- Burns Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Wp Davidson High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Murphy High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
- Acceleration Day And Evening AcademyF · 5% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 36609 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
36609 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 36609 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 36609 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 36609
Is 36609 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 36609 ranks 27,635th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, cell coverage, and low property taxes, and lowest on disaster risk and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 36609 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $190,498. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $54,599 median income, cost of living beats 28% of zip codes.
Is 36609 safe?
36609 is safer than 7% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $651 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 36609?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 39. That works out to about 92 pleasant days a year, more than 57% of zip codes.
Is 36609 good for families?
Schools beat 38% of zip codes, crime safety beats 7%, and childcare runs $619 a month.
Compare 36609 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 36609. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 36609 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.
36609 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 36609: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 36609: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 36609: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 36609: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
36609 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.