Best PlacesFairhope, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Fairhope, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Fairhope ranks 1,065th of 2,098 U.S. cities 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 Fairhope
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.
Fairhope's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fairhope ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of cities
- Cheap childcare$619 a month, better than 95% of cities
- QuietBetter than 93% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than 93% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 92% of cities
Where Fairhope ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 11% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than only 13% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Fairhope
A household needs to earn about $107,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fairhope home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $84,435, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Fairhope's effective rate of 0.32%, 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 Fairhope
Fairhope runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Fairhope.
Who works in Fairhope, and how
Work in Fairhope centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Fairhope
Fairhope has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of cities and more parkland per resident than 78% of cities. The coast is about 5 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Fairhope and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Fairhope, month by month
Fairhope sees roughly 132 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 51° | 42° |
| April | 77° | 66° | 56° |
| July | 89° | 80° | 74° |
| October | 81° | 69° | 60° |
Flying in and out of Fairhope
The nearest airport, Mobile International, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 147 miles away.
The best schools in and around Fairhope
Schools across Fairhope average an A−, better than 79% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Fairhope West ElementaryA · 64% proficient
- Fairhope East ElementaryA · 62% proficient
- J Larry Newton SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fairhope Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Central Baldwin Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Foley Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Fairhope High SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Robertsdale High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Foley High SchoolC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fairhope school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fairhope 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 Fairhope against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Fairhope suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 76% of cities, health care access beats 93%, and it is quieter than 93%.
Common questions about living in Fairhope
Is Fairhope a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fairhope ranks 1,065th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on low property taxes, affordable childcare, and quiet, and lowest on disaster risk and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Fairhope expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $437,980. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $84,435 median income, cost of living beats 56% of cities.
Is Fairhope safe?
Yes, Fairhope is safer than 70% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $245 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Fairhope?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 62 with lows near 42. That works out to about 132 pleasant days a year, more than 76% of cities.
Is Fairhope good for families?
Schools beat 79% of cities, crime safety beats 70%, and childcare runs $619 a month.
Compare Fairhope with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fairhope. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fairhope 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.
Fairhope detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fairhope: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fairhope: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fairhope: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fairhope: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fairhope 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.