Best PlacesGlen Iris, Birmingham, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Glen Iris, Birmingham, 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.
Glen Iris, Birmingham ranks 4,591st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Glen Iris, Birmingham
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.
Glen Iris, Birmingham's strengths and weaknesses
Where Glen Iris, Birmingham ranks high
- Cheap childcare$702 a month, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Short commute18.2 minutes each way, better than 88% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
Where Glen Iris, Birmingham ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Glen Iris, Birmingham
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Glen Iris, Birmingham home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $55,464, 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 Glen Iris, Birmingham's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 Glen Iris, Birmingham
Glen Iris, Birmingham runs younger 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 Glen Iris, Birmingham.
Who works in Glen Iris, Birmingham, and how
Work in Glen Iris, Birmingham centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Glen Iris, Birmingham
Glen Iris, Birmingham has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 86% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Glen Iris, Birmingham and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Glen Iris, Birmingham, month by month
Glen Iris, Birmingham sees roughly 86 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 45° | 37° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 53° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 79° | 67° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Glen Iris, Birmingham
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 138 miles away.
The best schools in and around Glen Iris, Birmingham
Schools across Glen Iris, Birmingham average a B−, better than 64% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Edgewood Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Riverchase Elementary SchoolA− · 61% proficient
- Shades Cahaba Elementary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
Top middle schools
- Homewood Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- Berry Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Irondale Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Homewood High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Spain Park High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Shades Valley High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Glen Iris, Birmingham school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Glen Iris, Birmingham 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 Glen Iris, Birmingham against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Glen Iris, Birmingham
Is Glen Iris, Birmingham a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Glen Iris, Birmingham ranks 4,591st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on taxes and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Glen Iris, Birmingham expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $274,780. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $55,464 median income, cost of living beats 30% of neighborhoods.
Is Glen Iris, Birmingham safe?
Glen Iris, Birmingham is safer than 16% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $703 per resident a year.
Compare Glen Iris, Birmingham with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Glen Iris, Birmingham. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Glen Iris, Birmingham 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.
Glen Iris, Birmingham detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Glen Iris, Birmingham: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Glen Iris, Birmingham: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Glen Iris, Birmingham: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Glen Iris, Birmingham: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Glen Iris, Birmingham 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.