Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 76/100
B
Median home value$330,700
Birmingham $240,200
Median rent$1,574/mo
Birmingham $1,172/mo
Cost-burdened households19%
Birmingham 27%
Helena
Shelby & Jefferson counties21,769 residents2 school districts
62
C
Suburbgrade score
7th of 22 Birmingham suburbs. Strong on employment & income and housing & affordability, held back by amenities.
62
Birmingham median 55
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Helena yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 62 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Helena is like to live in, by category
Bars show Helena against Birmingham. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 68/100
B−
Within-state proficiency76th pct
Birmingham median 69th pct
Student–teacher ratio17.8
Birmingham median 17.0
Graduation rate94%
Birmingham median 93%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 65/100
C+
Housing cost index115
Birmingham 100
Eff. tax rate0.46%
Birmingham 0.48%
Local sales tax9.46%
Birmingham median 9.46%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 37/100
F
Mean commute30.7 min
Birmingham 27.0 min
Under 30 minutes41%
Birmingham 59%
Transit stops / sq mi0.0
Birmingham median 0.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 36/100
F
Restaurants & cafés7
Birmingham median 12 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Birmingham median 2 · within 2 miles
Parks16
Birmingham median 7 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 83/100
A−
Median household income$115,139
Birmingham $71,498
Unemployment2.0%
Birmingham 4.5%
Professional occupations55%
Birmingham 42%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Helena yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Helena on amenities
Helena's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same six inputs.
SuburbAmenitiesOverall
Homewood13 mi from HelenaB+ 78 B+ Hoover8 mi from HelenaB 71 B− Birmingham18 mi from HelenaB 51 D+ Alabaster6 mi from HelenaC− 64 C+ Vestavia Hills15 mi from HelenaD+ 72 B− Mountain Brook17 mi from HelenaD 75 B Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026
Common questions about living in Helena
Is Helena, AL a good place to live?
Helena scores 62 out of 100, 7th of 22 Birmingham suburbs. It is strongest on employment & income and weakest on amenities. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Helena expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $330,700, 38% above the Birmingham median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.46%. $1,574/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Helena?
Schools grade B−. The districts serving Helena sit at the 76th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 94% graduation rate and a 17.8 student–teacher ratio. Helena is served by Shelby County and Jefferson County School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Helena?
The mean commute is 30.7 min, with 41% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 20% working from home. Transit density is 0.0 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Helena?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 7 restaurants and cafés and 16 parks, which grades F on amenities.
Are the homes in Helena old or new?
The median home in Helena was built in 2001 — newer than the Birmingham median of 1983. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 97% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.