Best PlacesNew Lexington, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around New Lexington, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
New Lexington ranks 29,416th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in New Lexington
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.
New Lexington's strengths and weaknesses
Where New Lexington ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 75% of towns
- Cheap childcare$638 a month, better than 74% of towns
Where New Lexington ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of towns
- Short commute35.0 minutes each way, better than only 14% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 18% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 28% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in New Lexington
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median New Lexington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,787, 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 New Lexington's effective rate of 0.22%, 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 New Lexington
New Lexington runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for New Lexington.
Who works in New Lexington, and how
Work in New Lexington centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in New Lexington
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across New Lexington.
What the weather is like in New Lexington, month by month
New Lexington sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 58, 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 | 58° | 46° | 37° |
| April | 77° | 64° | 53° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 80° | 67° | 56° |
Flying in and out of New Lexington
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 169 miles away.
The best schools in and around New Lexington
Schools across New Lexington average a C+, better than 43% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Rock Quarry Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Walker Elementary SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Berry Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northridge Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Northside Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Fayette Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Northridge High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Northside High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Fayette County High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every New Lexington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
New Lexington 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 New Lexington against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in New Lexington
Is New Lexington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, New Lexington ranks 29,416th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low property taxes, tree cover, and state infrastructure, and lowest on empty homes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is New Lexington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $178,669. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $72,787 median income, cost of living beats 48% of towns.
Is New Lexington safe?
Yes, New Lexington is safer than 75% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $236 per resident a year.
Compare New Lexington with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to New Lexington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in New Lexington 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.
New Lexington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for New Lexington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in New Lexington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of New Lexington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in New Lexington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
New Lexington 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.