Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 73/100
B
Median home value$558,500
Birmingham $240,200
Median rent$1,463/mo
Birmingham $1,172/mo
Cost-burdened households29%
Birmingham 27%
Homewood
Jefferson County27,829 residentsHomewood City
78
B+
Suburbgrade score
1st of 22 Birmingham suburbs. Strong on schools and commute & transport, held back by cost of living.
78
Birmingham median 55
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Homewood yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 78 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 Homewood is like to live in, by category
Bars show Homewood against Birmingham. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 93/100
A+
Within-state proficiency98th pct
Birmingham median 69th pct
Student–teacher ratio13.1
Birmingham median 17.0
Graduation rate96%
Birmingham median 93%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 57/100
C−
Housing cost index143
Birmingham 100
Eff. tax rate0.58%
Birmingham 0.48%
Local sales tax9.46%
Birmingham median 9.46%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 85/100
A−
Mean commute17.1 min
Birmingham 27.0 min
Under 30 minutes88%
Birmingham 59%
Transit stops / sq mi7.0
Birmingham median 0.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 82/100
B+
Restaurants & cafés112
Birmingham median 12 · within 2 miles
Groceries15
Birmingham median 2 · within 2 miles
Parks24
Birmingham median 7 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 76/100
B
Median household income$94,485
Birmingham $71,498
Unemployment2.3%
Birmingham 4.5%
Professional occupations59%
Birmingham 42%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
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 Homewood yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Homewood on cost of living
Homewood's weakest grade is C−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCost of livingOverall
Bessemer11 mi from HomewoodB 37 F Hueytown12 mi from HomewoodB 43 D Leeds15 mi from HomewoodB 54 C− Birmingham5 mi from HomewoodB 51 D+ Irondale10 mi from HomewoodB 49 D+ Center Point15 mi from HomewoodB 44 D Cost-of-living index composed in-house from housing cost, utilities, effective property tax and local sales tax · Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Effective property tax: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Homewood
Is Homewood, AL a good place to live?
Homewood scores 78 out of 100, 1st of 22 Birmingham suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on cost of living. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Homewood expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C−. The median home is $558,500, 133% above the Birmingham median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.58%. $1,463/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Homewood?
Schools grade A+. The districts serving Homewood sit at the 98th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 96% graduation rate and a 13.1 student–teacher ratio. Homewood is served by Homewood City. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Homewood?
The mean commute is 17.1 min, with 88% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 14% working from home. Transit density is 7.0 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Homewood?
Within two miles there are 15 groceries, 112 restaurants and cafés and 24 parks, which grades B+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Homewood old or new?
The median home in Homewood was built in 1967 — older 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. 58% 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.