Best PlacesNorthport, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Northport, 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.
Northport ranks 742nd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Northport
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.
Northport's strengths and weaknesses
Where Northport ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 97% of cities
- Cheap childcare$639 a month, better than 94% of cities
- QuietBetter than 90% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 87% of cities
Where Northport ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 6% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 13% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 13% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 21% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Northport
A household needs to earn about $72,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Northport home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $90,368, 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 Northport's effective rate of 0.27%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Northport
Northport's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Northport.
Who works in Northport, and how
Work in Northport centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Northport
Northport has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of cities and more parkland per resident than 85% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Northport and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Northport, month by month
Northport sees roughly 97 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 and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 46° | 37° |
| April | 77° | 64° | 53° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 80° | 66° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Northport
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 183 miles away.
The best schools in and around Northport
Schools across Northport average a C+, better than 41% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Rock Quarry Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Verner Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Walker Elementary SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northridge Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Echols Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Northside Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Northridge High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Northside High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Tuscaloosa County High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Northport school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Northport 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 Northport against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Northport suits
Families
Schools land around the 41st percentile and crime safety beats 75%.
Retirees
The weather beats 58% of cities, health care access beats 71%, and it is quieter than 90%.
Common questions about living in Northport
Is Northport a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Northport ranks 742nd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on low property taxes, a stable housing market, and affordable childcare, and lowest on biking and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Northport expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $296,530. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $90,368 median income, cost of living beats 66% of cities.
Is Northport safe?
Yes, Northport is safer than 75% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $256 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Northport?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 58 with lows near 37. That works out to about 97 pleasant days a year, more than 58% of cities.
Is Northport good for families?
Schools beat 41% of cities, crime safety beats 75%, and childcare runs $639 a month.
Compare Northport with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Northport. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Northport 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.
Northport detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Northport: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Northport: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Northport: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Northport: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Northport 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.