Best PlacesCottonton, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Cottonton, 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.
Cottonton ranks 33,523rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on state infrastructure, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Cottonton
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.
Cottonton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Cottonton ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of towns
- QuietBetter than 85% of towns
- Cheap childcare$635 a month, better than 75% of towns
Where Cottonton ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 14% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 15% of towns
- School gradeC−, better than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Cottonton
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cottonton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,992, 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 Cottonton's effective rate of 0.41%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Cottonton
Cottonton'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 Cottonton.
Who works in Cottonton, and how
Work in Cottonton centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 1%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Cottonton
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Cottonton.
What the weather is like in Cottonton, month by month
Cottonton sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 47° | 34° |
| April | 80° | 64° | 48° |
| July | 94° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 82° | 66° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Cottonton
The nearest airport, Columbus, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 101 miles away.
The best schools in and around Cottonton
Schools across Cottonton average a C−, better than 19% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Oliver Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Russell County Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Russell County High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cottonton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cottonton 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 Cottonton against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Cottonton
Is Cottonton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cottonton ranks 33,523rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low disaster risk, and low property taxes, and lowest on taxes and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Cottonton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $196,258. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $70,992 median income, cost of living beats 48% of towns.
Is Cottonton safe?
Cottonton is safer than 24% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $392 per resident a year.
Compare Cottonton with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cottonton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cottonton 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.
Cottonton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cottonton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cottonton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cottonton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cottonton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cottonton 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.