Best Places36830, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 36830, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
36830 ranks 5,941st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 36830
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.
36830's strengths and weaknesses
Where 36830 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 88% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 36830 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 32% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 36830
A household needs to earn about $90,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 36830 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $79,450, 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 36830's effective rate of 0.40%, 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 36830
36830 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 36830.
Who works in 36830, and how
Work in 36830 centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 36830
36830 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 66% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 36830 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 36830, month by month
36830 sees roughly 90 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 47° | 37° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 54° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 78° | 66° | 57° |
Flying in and out of 36830
The nearest airport, Columbus, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 93 miles away.
The best schools in and around 36830
Schools across 36830 average a B+, better than 79% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Wrights Mill Road Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Margaret Yarbrough Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Ogletree Elementary SchoolA · 64% proficient
Top middle schools
- Drake Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- East Samford SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Sanford Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Auburn High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Opelika High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Loachapoka High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 36830 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
36830 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 36830 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 36830 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 36830
Is 36830 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 36830 ranks 5,941st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, a strong job market, and low property taxes, and lowest on taxes and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 36830 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $363,027. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $79,450 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 36830 safe?
Yes, 36830 is safer than 66% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $266 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 36830?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 57 with lows near 37. That works out to about 90 pleasant days a year, more than 55% of zip codes.
Is 36830 good for families?
Schools beat 79% of zip codes, crime safety beats 66%, and childcare runs $635 a month.
Compare 36830 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 36830. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 36830 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.
36830 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 36830: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 36830: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 36830: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 36830: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
36830 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.