Best PlacesRiver Falls, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around River Falls, 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.
River Falls ranks 39,823rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in River Falls
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.
River Falls' strengths and weaknesses
Where River Falls ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 79% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 73% of towns
Where River Falls ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 10% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in River Falls
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median River Falls home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,667, 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 River Falls' effective rate of 0.20%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in River Falls
River Falls runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for River Falls.
Who works in River Falls, and how
Work in River Falls centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in River Falls
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across River Falls.
What the weather is like in River Falls, month by month
River Falls sees roughly 83 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 52° | 41° |
| April | 83° | 69° | 55° |
| July | 96° | 83° | 74° |
| October | 86° | 71° | 59° |
Flying in and out of River Falls
The nearest airport, Eglin AFB/Destin-Ft Walton Beach, is about 60 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 198 miles away.
The best schools in and around River Falls
Schools across River Falls average a C+, better than 46% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Straughn Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Fleeta SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Evergreen Elementary SchoolD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Straughn Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Andalusia Junior HighB− · 40% proficient
- Thurgood Marshall Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Andalusia High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Straughn High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Hillcrest High SchoolF · 8% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every River Falls school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
River Falls 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 River Falls against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in River Falls
Is River Falls a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, River Falls ranks 39,823rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low property taxes, state infrastructure, and tree cover, and lowest on disaster risk and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is River Falls expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $169,042. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $63,667 median income, cost of living beats 43% of towns.
Is River Falls safe?
River Falls is safer than 30% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $352 per resident a year.
Compare River Falls with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to River Falls. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in River Falls 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.
River Falls detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for River Falls: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in River Falls: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of River Falls: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in River Falls: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
River Falls 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.