Best PlacesNorwood, Birmingham, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Norwood, Birmingham, 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.
Norwood, Birmingham ranks 5,781st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Norwood, Birmingham
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.
Norwood, Birmingham's strengths and weaknesses
Where Norwood, Birmingham ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Short commute16.2 minutes each way, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$702 a month, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
Where Norwood, Birmingham ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Household income$31,247 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Norwood, Birmingham
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Norwood, Birmingham home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $31,247, 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 Norwood, Birmingham's effective rate of 0.43%, 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 Norwood, Birmingham
Norwood, Birmingham's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Norwood, Birmingham.
Who works in Norwood, Birmingham, and how
Work in Norwood, Birmingham centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Norwood, Birmingham
Norwood, Birmingham has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Norwood, Birmingham and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Norwood, Birmingham, month by month
Norwood, Birmingham sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 56, 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 | 56° | 45° | 37° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 53° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 79° | 67° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Norwood, Birmingham
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 137 miles away.
The best schools in and around Norwood, Birmingham
Schools across Norwood, Birmingham average a D+, better than 17% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Phillips AcademyB− · 41% proficient
- Norwood Elementary SchoolF · 9% proficient
- Hayes K8F · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Ramsay High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- George Washington Carver High SchoolF · 9% proficient
- Woodlawn High SchoolmagnetF · 3% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Norwood, Birmingham school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Norwood, Birmingham 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 Norwood, Birmingham against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Norwood, Birmingham
Is Norwood, Birmingham a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Norwood, Birmingham ranks 5,781st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low property taxes, short commutes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on crime and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Norwood, Birmingham expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $212,479. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $31,247 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Norwood, Birmingham safe?
Norwood, Birmingham is safer than 0% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,409 per resident a year.
Compare Norwood, Birmingham with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Norwood, Birmingham. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Norwood, Birmingham 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.
Norwood, Birmingham detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Norwood, Birmingham: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Norwood, Birmingham: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Norwood, Birmingham: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Norwood, Birmingham: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Norwood, Birmingham 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.