Best PlacesErin, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Erin, 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.
Erin ranks 46,428th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Erin
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.
Erin's strengths and weaknesses
Where Erin ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of towns
- Cheap childcare$549 a month, better than 87% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 83% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 70% of towns
Where Erin ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of towns
- Household income$42,962 median, better than only 3% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 7% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Erin
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Erin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $42,962, 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 Erin's effective rate of 0.20%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Erin
Erin 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 Erin.
Who works in Erin, and how
Work in Erin centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Erin
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Erin.
What the weather is like in Erin, month by month
Erin sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 45° | 36° |
| April | 76° | 63° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 78° | 65° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Erin
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 51 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 87 miles away.
The best schools in and around Erin
Schools across Erin average a D+, better than 13% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Munford Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Ashland Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- C L Salter Elementary SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Munford Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Central Jr High School Of Clay CountyC− · 29% proficient
- Evelyn D Houston Elementary SchoolF · 12% proficient
Top high schools
- Munford High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Central High School Of Clay CountyD− · 12% proficient
- Talladega High SchoolF · 4% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Erin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Erin 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 Erin against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Erin
Is Erin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Erin ranks 46,428th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low property taxes, state infrastructure, and affordable childcare, and lowest on education levels and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Erin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $133,528. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $42,962 median income, cost of living beats 7% of towns.
Is Erin safe?
Yes, Erin is safer than 70% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $227 per resident a year.
Compare Erin with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Erin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Erin 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.
Erin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Erin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Erin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Erin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Erin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Erin 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.