Best PlacesAthens, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Athens, 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.
Athens ranks 1,390th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Athens
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.
Athens' strengths and weaknesses
Where Athens ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of cities
- Cheap childcare$639 a month, better than 94% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 90% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of cities
- QuietBetter than 85% of cities
Where Athens ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 7% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 8% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 11% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than only 15% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Athens
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Athens home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,957, 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 Athens' effective rate of 0.28%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Athens
Athens's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Athens.
Who works in Athens, and how
Work in Athens centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Athens
Athens has more restaurants and bars per resident than 65% of cities and more parkland per resident than 90% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Athens and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Athens, month by month
Athens sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 42° | 34° |
| April | 74° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Athens
The nearest airport, Huntsville International-Carl T Jones Field, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 93 miles away.
The best schools in and around Athens
Schools across Athens average a C+, better than 34% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Athens Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Brookhill Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Creekside Elementary SchoolB · 49% proficient
Top middle schools
- Liberty Middle SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Monrovia Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Sparkman Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Athens High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- East Limestone High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Sparkman High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Athens school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Athens 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 Athens against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Athens suits
Families
Schools land around the 34th percentile and crime safety beats 69%.
Common questions about living in Athens
Is Athens a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Athens ranks 1,390th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on low property taxes, affordable childcare, and a strong job market, and lowest on biking and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Athens expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $263,723. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $75,957 median income, cost of living beats 47% of cities.
Is Athens safe?
Yes, Athens is safer than 69% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $246 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Athens?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 34. That works out to about 82 pleasant days a year, more than 47% of cities.
Is Athens good for families?
Schools beat 34% of cities, crime safety beats 69%, and childcare runs $639 a month.
Compare Athens with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Athens. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Athens 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.
Athens detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Athens: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Athens: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Athens: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Athens: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Athens 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.