Best PlacesBessemer, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Bessemer, 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.
Bessemer ranks 2,033rd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Bessemer
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.
Bessemer's strengths and weaknesses
Where Bessemer ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 94% of cities
- Cheap childcare$702 a month, better than 89% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of cities
- TransitBetter than 61% of cities
Where Bessemer ranks low
- School gradeD−, better than only 2% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than only 7% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Bessemer
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bessemer home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,904, 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 Bessemer'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 Bessemer
Bessemer'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 Bessemer.
Who works in Bessemer, and how
Work in Bessemer centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Bessemer
Bessemer has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of cities and more parkland per resident than 76% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Bessemer and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Bessemer, month by month
Bessemer sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 46° | 36° |
| April | 76° | 63° | 52° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 71° |
| October | 78° | 66° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Bessemer
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 148 miles away.
The best schools in and around Bessemer
Schools across Bessemer average a D−, better than 2% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Helena Intermediate SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Shades Mountain Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Ashville Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pizitz Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Ira F Simmons Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Helena MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Helena High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Corner High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Ashville High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bessemer school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bessemer 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 Bessemer against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Bessemer suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Bessemer
Is Bessemer a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bessemer ranks 2,033rd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on low property taxes, affordable childcare, and state infrastructure, and lowest on the schools and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Bessemer expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $202,987. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $62,904 median income, cost of living beats 27% of cities.
Is Bessemer safe?
Bessemer is safer than 3% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $652 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Bessemer?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 57 with lows near 36. That works out to about 75 pleasant days a year, more than 37% of cities.
Is Bessemer good for families?
Schools beat 2% of cities, crime safety beats 3%, and childcare runs $702 a month.
Compare Bessemer with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bessemer. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bessemer 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.
Bessemer detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bessemer: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bessemer: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bessemer: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bessemer: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bessemer 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.