Best PlacesFlat Rock, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Flat Rock, 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.
Flat Rock ranks 39,197th 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 Flat Rock
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.
Flat Rock's strengths and weaknesses
Where Flat Rock ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of towns
- Cheap childcare$528 a month, better than 90% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 132 pleasant days a year, better than 86% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 84% of towns
Where Flat Rock ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of towns
- Household income$45,097 median, better than only 7% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 8% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Flat Rock
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Flat Rock home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $45,097, 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 Flat Rock'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 Flat Rock
Flat Rock'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 Flat Rock.
Who works in Flat Rock, and how
Work in Flat Rock centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Flat Rock
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Flat Rock.
What the weather is like in Flat Rock, month by month
Flat Rock sees roughly 132 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 40° | 31° |
| April | 73° | 59° | 47° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 68° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Flat Rock
The nearest airport, Lovell Field, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 107 miles away.
The best schools in and around Flat Rock
Schools across Flat Rock average a C, better than 39% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Davis Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Flat Rock SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Stevenson Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stevenson Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Dade County High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- North Jackson High SchoolD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Flat Rock school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Flat Rock 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 Flat Rock against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Flat Rock
Is Flat Rock a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Flat Rock ranks 39,197th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low property taxes, affordable childcare, and state infrastructure, 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 Flat Rock expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $142,446. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $45,097 median income, cost of living beats 8% of towns.
Is Flat Rock safe?
Yes, Flat Rock is safer than 56% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $265 per resident a year.
Compare Flat Rock with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Flat Rock. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Flat Rock 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.
Flat Rock detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Flat Rock: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Flat Rock: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Flat Rock: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Flat Rock: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Flat Rock 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.