Best PlacesNorth Walter, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Walter, 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.
North Walter ranks 40,130th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Walter
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.
North Walter's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Walter ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 80% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 79% of towns
Where North Walter ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of towns
- Household income$21,964 median, better than only 3% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 5% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Walter
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Walter home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $21,964, 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 North Walter's effective rate of 0.15%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in North Walter
North Walter runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Walter.
Who works in North Walter, and how
Work in North Walter centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 0%
Life in North Walter
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across North Walter.
What the weather is like in North Walter, month by month
North Walter sees roughly 95 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 41° | 33° |
| April | 73° | 60° | 48° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 69° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 51° |
Flying in and out of North Walter
The nearest airport, Huntsville International-Carl T Jones Field, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 134 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Walter
Schools across North Walter average a C, better than 34% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Holly Pond Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Hanceville Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hanceville Middle SchoolC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Holly Pond High SchoolD · 18% proficient
- Hanceville High SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Walter school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Walter 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 North Walter against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Walter
Is North Walter a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Walter ranks 40,130th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on civic engagement, low property taxes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Walter expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $106,800. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $21,964 median income, cost of living beats 3% of towns.
Is North Walter safe?
Yes, North Walter is safer than 66% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $234 per resident a year.
Compare North Walter with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Walter. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Walter 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.
North Walter detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Walter: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Walter: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Walter: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Walter: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Walter 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.