Best PlacesDallas County, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Dallas 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.
Dallas County ranks 3,105th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Dallas 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.
Dallas County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dallas County ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 86% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 79% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 79% of counties
- Cheap childcare$658 a month, better than 65% of counties
Where Dallas County ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 1% of counties
- School gradeD−, better than only 1% of counties
- Household income$37,174 median, better than only 1% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 5% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Dallas County
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dallas County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $37,174, 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 Dallas County's effective rate of 0.34%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Dallas County
Dallas County runs older than the country, 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 Dallas County.
Who works in Dallas County, and how
Work in Dallas County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Dallas County
Dallas County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Dallas County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Dallas County growing, and who is moving in?
Dallas County has lost about 14% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Perry County, AL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Dallas County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Dallas County, month by month
Dallas County sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 47° | 38° |
| April | 78° | 64° | 52° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 80° | 67° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Dallas County
The nearest airport, Montgomery Regional (Dannelly Field), is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 173 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dallas County
Schools across Dallas County average a D−, better than 1% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Meadowview Elementary SchoolC− · 25% proficient
- Je Terry Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
- Valley Grande Elementary SchoolD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- William R Martin Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
- School Of Discovery Genesis CenterD− · 14% proficient
- Camden School Of Arts TechnologyF · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Selma High SchoolF · 9% proficient
- Dallas County High SchoolF · 8% proficient
- Keith Middlehigh SchoolF · 6% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dallas County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dallas 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 Dallas County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Dallas County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Dallas County
Is Dallas County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dallas County ranks 3,105th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low property taxes, state infrastructure, and a stable housing market, and lowest on crime and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dallas County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $100,221. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $37,174 median income, cost of living beats 1% of counties.
Is Dallas County safe?
Dallas County is safer than 1% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,002 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Dallas County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 59 with lows near 38. That works out to about 91 pleasant days a year, more than 52% of counties.
Is Dallas County good for families?
Schools beat 1% of counties, crime safety beats 1%, and childcare runs $658 a month.
Compare Dallas County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dallas County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dallas 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.
Dallas County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dallas County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dallas County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dallas County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dallas County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dallas 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.