Best PlacesMalibar Heights, Mobile, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Malibar Heights, Mobile, 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.
Malibar Heights, Mobile ranks 4,936th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Malibar Heights, Mobile
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.
Malibar Heights, Mobile's strengths and weaknesses
Where Malibar Heights, Mobile ranks high
- Cheap childcare$619 a month, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
Where Malibar Heights, Mobile ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Malibar Heights, Mobile
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Malibar Heights, Mobile home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,033, 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 Malibar Heights, Mobile's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 Malibar Heights, Mobile
Malibar Heights, Mobile 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 Malibar Heights, Mobile.
Who works in Malibar Heights, Mobile, and how
Work in Malibar Heights, Mobile centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Malibar Heights, Mobile
The coast is about 14 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Malibar Heights, Mobile, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Malibar Heights, Mobile, month by month
Malibar Heights, Mobile sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 51° | 39° |
| April | 80° | 67° | 55° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 74° |
| October | 84° | 70° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Malibar Heights, Mobile
The nearest airport, Mobile Regional, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 133 miles away.
The best schools in and around Malibar Heights, Mobile
Schools across Malibar Heights, Mobile average a C−, better than 31% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Er Dickson Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Olive J Dodge Elementary SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Denton Magnet School Of TechnologyB+ · 50% proficient
- Burns Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Wp Davidson High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Murphy High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Malibar Heights, Mobile school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Malibar Heights, Mobile 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 Malibar Heights, Mobile against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Malibar Heights, Mobile
Is Malibar Heights, Mobile a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Malibar Heights, Mobile ranks 4,936th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, tree cover, and low property taxes, and lowest on biking and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Malibar Heights, Mobile expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $179,187. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $62,033 median income, cost of living beats 52% of neighborhoods.
Is Malibar Heights, Mobile safe?
Malibar Heights, Mobile is safer than 22% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $629 per resident a year.
Compare Malibar Heights, Mobile with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Malibar Heights, Mobile. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Malibar Heights, Mobile 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.
Malibar Heights, Mobile detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Malibar Heights, Mobile: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Malibar Heights, Mobile: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Malibar Heights, Mobile: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Malibar Heights, Mobile: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Malibar Heights, Mobile 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.