Best PlacesCongo, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Congo, 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.
Congo ranks 39,546th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Congo
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.
Congo's strengths and weaknesses
Where Congo ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 97% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Cheap childcare$528 a month, better than 90% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of towns
- QuietBetter than 82% of towns
Where Congo ranks low
- Short commute43.3 minutes each way, better than only 3% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 12% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Congo
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Congo home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,268, 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 Congo's effective rate of 0.24%, 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 Congo
Congo runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Congo.
Who works in Congo, and how
Work in Congo centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Congo
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Congo.
What the weather is like in Congo, month by month
Congo sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 40° | 32° |
| April | 73° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 69° |
| October | 74° | 62° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Congo
The nearest airport, Lovell Field, is about 56 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 84 miles away.
The best schools in and around Congo
Schools across Congo average a C, better than 34% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Centre Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Ruhuma Junior High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Centre Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Fort Payne Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Fort Payne High SchoolC− · 26% proficient
- Cherokee County High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Congo school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Congo 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 Congo against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Congo
Is Congo a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Congo ranks 39,546th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low property taxes, tree cover, and affordable childcare, and lowest on long commutes and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Congo expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $188,503. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $58,268 median income, cost of living beats 16% of towns.
Is Congo safe?
Yes, Congo is safer than 60% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $252 per resident a year.
Compare Congo with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Congo. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Congo 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.
Congo detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Congo: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Congo: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Congo: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Congo: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Congo 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.