Best PlacesJackson County, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Jackson County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Jackson County ranks 2,275th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Jackson 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.
The best areas in Jackson County
The parts of Jackson County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Section & Dutton
More households have young kids, more adults hold degrees, and it is quieter.
Scottsboro
Crime runs higher.
Bridgeport, Stevenson & Bryant
Local pay stretches less far and health care is harder to reach.
Scores across Jackson County run from about the 5th to the 71st percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Jackson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jackson County ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of counties
- Cheap childcare$528 a month, better than 86% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 86% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 75% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 68% of counties
Where Jackson County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 9% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 11% of counties
- Household income$53,120 median, better than only 13% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Jackson County
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jackson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,120, 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 Jackson County's effective rate of 0.25%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Jackson County
Jackson 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 Jackson County.
Who works in Jackson County, and how
Work in Jackson County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Jackson County
Jackson County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Jackson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Jackson County growing, and who is moving in?
Jackson County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Myrtle Beach, SC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Jackson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Jackson County, month by month
Jackson County sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 40° | 32° |
| April | 74° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 69° |
| October | 76° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Jackson County
The nearest airport, Lovell Field, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 105 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jackson County
Schools across Jackson County average a C, better than 33% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Broadview ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Flintville SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Flat Rock SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Collins Intermediate SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Scottsboro Junior High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Buckhorn Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Kate D Smith Dar High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Madison County High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Buckhorn High SchoolC · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jackson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jackson 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 Jackson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Jackson County suits
Families
Schools land around the 33rd percentile and crime safety beats 66%.
Common questions about living in Jackson County
Is Jackson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jackson County ranks 2,275th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low property taxes, affordable childcare, and state infrastructure, and lowest on taxes and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jackson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $163,381. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $53,120 median income, cost of living beats 17% of counties.
Is Jackson County safe?
Yes, Jackson County is safer than 66% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $291 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jackson County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 52 with lows near 32. That works out to about 108 pleasant days a year, more than 66% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Jackson County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Section & Dutton, Scottsboro, and Bridgeport, Stevenson & Bryant. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Jackson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jackson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jackson 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.
Jackson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jackson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jackson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jackson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jackson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jackson 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.