Best PlacesSamson, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Samson, 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.
Samson ranks 41,085th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Samson
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.
Samson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Samson ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of towns
Where Samson ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 8% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of towns
- Household income$49,150 median, better than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Samson
A household needs to earn about $28,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Samson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $49,150, 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 Samson's effective rate of 0.21%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Samson
Samson runs older than the country, 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 Samson.
Who works in Samson, and how
Work in Samson centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Samson
Samson has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Samson and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Samson, month by month
Samson sees roughly 84 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 51° | 39° |
| April | 81° | 67° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 84° | 69° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Samson
The nearest airport, Dothan Regional, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 200 miles away.
The best schools in and around Samson
Schools across Samson average a D+, better than 14% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Ws Harlan Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Samson Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Geneva Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Samson Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Florala High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Geneva High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Samson High SchoolF · 7% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Samson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Samson 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 Samson against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Samson
Is Samson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Samson ranks 41,085th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low property taxes, a stable housing market, and state infrastructure, and lowest on air quality and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Samson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $115,055. The overall cost of living runs about 25% below the national average. Set against a $49,150 median income, cost of living beats 23% of towns.
Is Samson safe?
Samson is safer than 36% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $338 per resident a year.
Compare Samson with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Samson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Samson 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.
Samson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Samson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Samson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Samson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Samson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Samson 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.