Best PlacesSpring Lake, Birmingham, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Spring Lake, 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.
Spring Lake, Birmingham ranks 5,859th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Spring Lake, 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.
Spring Lake, Birmingham's strengths and weaknesses
Where Spring Lake, Birmingham ranks high
- Cheap childcare$702 a month, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
Where Spring Lake, Birmingham ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- School gradeF, better than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Spring Lake, Birmingham
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Spring Lake, Birmingham home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,308, 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 Spring Lake, Birmingham's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 Spring Lake, Birmingham
Spring Lake, Birmingham runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Spring Lake, Birmingham.
Who works in Spring Lake, Birmingham, and how
Work in Spring Lake, Birmingham centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Spring Lake, Birmingham
Spring Lake, Birmingham has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Spring Lake, Birmingham and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Spring Lake, Birmingham, month by month
Spring Lake, Birmingham sees roughly 85 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 Spring Lake, Birmingham
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 129 miles away.
The best schools in and around Spring Lake, Birmingham
Schools across Spring Lake, Birmingham average an F, better than 3% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Grantswood Community SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
- Huffman AcademyF · 10% proficient
- Chalkville Elementary SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top middle schools
- Irondale Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
- Claychalkville Middle SchoolD− · 15% proficient
- Erwin Middle SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Shades Valley High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Claychalkville High SchoolF · 9% proficient
- Huffman High SchoolmagnetF · 4% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Spring Lake, Birmingham school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Spring Lake, 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 Spring Lake, Birmingham against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Spring Lake, Birmingham
Is Spring Lake, Birmingham a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Spring Lake, Birmingham ranks 5,859th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and quiet, and lowest on empty homes and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Spring Lake, Birmingham expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $164,484. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $54,308 median income, cost of living beats 36% of neighborhoods.
Is Spring Lake, Birmingham safe?
Spring Lake, Birmingham is safer than 4% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $992 per resident a year.
Compare Spring Lake, Birmingham with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Spring Lake, Birmingham. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Spring Lake, 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.
Spring Lake, Birmingham detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Spring Lake, Birmingham: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Spring Lake, Birmingham: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Spring Lake, Birmingham: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Spring Lake, Birmingham: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Spring Lake, 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.