Best PlacesTuscaloosa, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in the Tuscaloosa metro, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Tuscaloosa ranks 317th of 387 U.S. metro areas on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on the schools and empty homes. It does better on low property taxes, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in the Tuscaloosa metro
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.
The best areas in Tuscaloosa
The towns and districts of the Tuscaloosa metro, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the metro.
Northport
Crime runs lower, local pay stretches further, and fewer homes sit empty.
Mccalla, Lake View & Brookwood
Incomes run higher and tree cover is thicker.
Moundville & Greensboro
More households have young kids, though biking is worse.
Duncanville
It is quieter, though streets are more car-dependent.
Gordo, Coker & Reform
Homes cost less, though heat risk is higher.
Cottondale, Holt & Vance
Prices have run up more and schools score lower.
Downtown Tuscaloosa
Commutes are shorter, though fewer residents vote.
Eutaw & Aliceville
Fewer adults hold degrees and health outcomes score lower.
Tuscaloosa shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Tuscaloosa's strengths and weaknesses
Tuscaloosa ranks near the bottom because several of the basics fall short at once. Low property taxes is the standout, in the top 1% of metro areas. A stable housing market and affordable childcare follow.
The weak spots are broad rather than narrow: the schools, empty homes, and taxes all drag on the score. Those are area averages, and the map below shows which parts run well above them.
Where Tuscaloosa ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of metro areas
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 91% of metro areas
- Cheap childcare$639 a month, better than 88% of metro areas
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of metro areas
- State infrastructureBetter than 86% of metro areas
Where Tuscaloosa ranks low
- School gradeC−, better than only 9% of metro areas
- Low vacancyBetter than only 11% of metro areas
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 12% of metro areas
- Cell coverageBetter than only 13% of metro areas
- Crime safetyBetter than only 14% of metro areas
What it costs to buy a home in Tuscaloosa
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Tuscaloosa home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,061, 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 Tuscaloosa's effective rate of 0.29%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Tuscaloosa.
Who works in Tuscaloosa, and how
Work in Tuscaloosa centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most metro areas and less parkland per resident than most metro areas. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Tuscaloosa and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Tuscaloosa growing, and who is moving in?
Tuscaloosa has grown about 14% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Birmingham, AL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Tuscaloosa go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Tuscaloosa, month by month
Tuscaloosa sees roughly 98 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 Tuscaloosa
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 182 miles away.
The best schools in and around Tuscaloosa
Schools across Tuscaloosa average a C−, better than 9% of metro areas.
Top elementary schools
- Rock Quarry Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Tuscaloosa Magnet School ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Verner Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tuscaloosa Magnet School MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Northridge Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Duncanville Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Northridge High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Tuscaloosa County High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Brookwood High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Tuscaloosa school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa against the other 386 metro areas.
Who Tuscaloosa suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 58% of metro areas and it is quieter than 73%.
Common questions about living in Tuscaloosa
Is Tuscaloosa a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Tuscaloosa ranks 317th of 387 metro areas. It scores highest on low property taxes, a stable housing market, and affordable childcare, and lowest on the schools and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Tuscaloosa expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $242,146. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $67,061 median income, cost of living beats 20% of metro areas.
Is Tuscaloosa safe?
Tuscaloosa is safer than 14% of metro areas. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $439 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Tuscaloosa?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 58 with lows near 37. That works out to about 98 pleasant days a year, more than 58% of metro areas.
What are the best neighborhoods in Tuscaloosa?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Northport, Mccalla, Lake View & Brookwood, and Moundville & Greensboro. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Tuscaloosa good for families?
Schools beat 9% of metro areas, crime safety beats 14%, and childcare runs $639 a month.
Is Tuscaloosa good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 20% of metro areas, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 64% of metro areas. About 8% of workers already work from home.
Compare Tuscaloosa with other metro areas
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Tuscaloosa. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Tuscaloosa 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.
Tuscaloosa detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Tuscaloosa: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Tuscaloosa: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Tuscaloosa: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Tuscaloosa: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Tuscaloosa 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.