Best PlacesCovington County, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Covington County, 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.
Covington County ranks 2,895th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Covington County
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.
Covington County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Covington County ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 86% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 83% of counties
- QuietBetter than 79% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 68% of counties
Where Covington County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 8% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 9% of counties
- Household income$54,180 median, better than only 15% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Covington County
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Covington County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,180, 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 Covington County's effective rate of 0.21%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Covington County
Covington County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Covington County.
Who works in Covington County, and how
Work in Covington County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Covington County
Covington County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Covington County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Covington County growing, and who is moving in?
Covington County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Coffee County, AL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Covington County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Covington County, month by month
Covington County sees roughly 83 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 52° | 41° |
| April | 83° | 69° | 55° |
| July | 96° | 83° | 74° |
| October | 86° | 71° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Covington County
The nearest airport, Eglin AFB/Destin-Ft Walton Beach, is about 56 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 199 miles away.
The best schools in and around Covington County
Schools across Covington County average a C+, better than 44% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Opp Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Straughn Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Andalusia Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Straughn Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Andalusia Junior HighB− · 40% proficient
- Opp Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Andalusia High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Straughn High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Florala High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Covington County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Covington County 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 Covington County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Covington County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 4% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Covington County
Is Covington County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Covington County ranks 2,895th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low property taxes, state infrastructure, and tree cover, and lowest on disaster risk and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Covington County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $147,945. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $54,180 median income, cost of living beats 21% of counties.
Is Covington County safe?
Covington County is safer than 23% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $411 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Covington County?
July highs average about 96 degrees, and January highs near 66 with lows near 41. That works out to about 83 pleasant days a year, more than 43% of counties.
Is Covington County good for families?
Schools beat 44% of counties, crime safety beats 23%, and childcare runs $658 a month.
Compare Covington County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Covington County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Covington County 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.
Covington County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Covington County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Covington County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Covington County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Covington County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Covington County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.