Birmingham

Best Birmingham suburbs for families

Ranked on a families weighting: schools at 30%, amenities within two miles at 20%, and the four poll questions about children, safety and sidewalks at 20%. Cost still counts, at 15%. The full weighting is shown at the bottom, and it is not the same as the overall score.

Updated Sep 2026·22 suburbs considered, 10 listed
1
Homewood$559k median · 17.1 min commute
Schools A+Amenities B+Residents inactive
80
Family score
overall 78 B+
2
Riverchase Galleria in 2026
Hoover$412k median · 25.2 min commute
Schools A−Amenities BResidents inactive
74
Family score
overall 71 B−
3
Mountain Brook, AL
Mountain Brook$916k median · 16.4 min commute
Schools A+Amenities DResidents inactive
70
Family score
overall 75 B
4
Welcome to Vestavia Hills Alabama with Sybil Temple as enter town from Highway 31 (Montgomery Highway)
Vestavia Hills$530k median · 19.3 min commute
Schools A−Amenities D+Residents inactive
69
Family score
overall 72 B−
5
Aerial view of Highway 31 in Alabaster, AL
Alabaster$262k median · 30.6 min commute
Schools BAmenities C−Residents inactive
66
Family score
overall 64 C+
6
Downtown Trussville, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham
Trussville$370k median · 26.6 min commute
Schools A−Amenities FResidents inactive
63
Family score
overall 66 C+
7
Buildings on Highway 31 in Calera, Alabama, part of the Calera Downtown Historic District
Calera$235k median · 33.0 min commute
Schools BAmenities FResidents inactive
61
Family score
overall 60 C
8
City Sign
Jasper$216k median · 26.8 min commute
Schools B−Amenities DResidents inactive
60
Family score
overall 55 C−
9
Old Town Helena, Alabama during a rare snow fall.
Helena$331k median · 30.7 min commute
Schools B−Amenities FResidents inactive
58
Family score
overall 62 C
10
This is a photograph of Chelsea, Alabama
Chelsea$360k median · 33.2 min commute
Schools BAmenities FResidents inactive
54
Family score
overall 57 C−
This list's weighting
Schools 30%Amenities 20%Resident poll (Q2, Q5, Q6, Q8) 20%Cost of living 15%Housing 10%Commute 5%

Poll components only count for places with eight or more resident responses; for the others the remaining weights re-normalise to 100%.

Other Birmingham lists
Most affordable Birmingham suburbsBest Birmingham suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown BirminghamMost walkable Birmingham suburbsBest Birmingham suburbs for young professionalsHow we score Birmingham suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Hoover (Johntrinh06 · CC BY 4.0); Mountain Brook (Robert Donovan from Franklin, TN, USA · CC BY 2.0); Vestavia Hills (Sharon Phelan Evans · CC BY-SA 3.0); Alabaster (AlabasterPIO · CC BY-SA 4.0); Trussville (Harrison Keely · CC BY 4.0); Calera (Chris Pruitt · CC BY-SA 3.0); Jasper (Bamassippi (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0); Helena (Civilengtiger · CC BY-SA 4.0); Chelsea (Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0).