Best PlacesCullman County, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Cullman County, 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.
Cullman County ranks 1,722nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Cullman 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.
The best areas in Cullman County
The parts of Cullman County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Cullman
Streets are more walkable, commutes are shorter, and more adults hold degrees.
Holly Pond
More households have young kids, though tree cover is thinner.
Vinemont
Local pay stretches further and incomes run higher.
Bremen
It is quieter, though more homes sit empty.
Baileyton
Scores close to Bremen, except that prices have run up less here.
Hanceville
Homes cost less, though schools score lower.
Scores across Cullman County run from about the 5th to the 83rd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Cullman County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Cullman County ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 90% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 86% of counties
- Cheap childcare$634 a month, better than 69% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 68% of counties
Where Cullman County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 9% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 20% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 22% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 29% of counties
- Short commute27.0 minutes each way, better than only 30% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Cullman County
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cullman County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,393, 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 Cullman 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 Cullman County
Cullman County'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 Cullman County.
Who works in Cullman County, and how
Work in Cullman County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Cullman County
Cullman County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Cullman County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Cullman County growing, and who is moving in?
Cullman County has grown about 14% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Birmingham, AL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Cullman County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Cullman County, month by month
Cullman County sees roughly 90 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 41° | 33° |
| April | 73° | 60° | 48° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 69° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Cullman County
The nearest airport, Huntsville International-Carl T Jones Field, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 136 miles away.
The best schools in and around Cullman County
Schools across Cullman County average a C+, better than 45% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- East Elementary SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Cold Springs Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Fairview Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cullman Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Arab Junior High SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- West Point Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Arab High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Cullman High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Jb Pennington High SchoolC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cullman County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cullman 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 Cullman County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Cullman County suits
Families
Schools land around the 45th percentile and crime safety beats 57%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 5% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Cullman County
Is Cullman County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cullman County ranks 1,722nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low property taxes, a strong job market, and state infrastructure, and lowest on taxes and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Cullman County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $206,743. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $68,393 median income, cost of living beats 39% of counties.
Is Cullman County safe?
Yes, Cullman County is safer than 57% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $298 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Cullman County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 33. That works out to about 90 pleasant days a year, more than 52% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Cullman County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Cullman, Holly Pond, and Vinemont. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Cullman County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cullman County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cullman 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.
Cullman County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cullman County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cullman County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cullman County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cullman County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cullman 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.