The 10 Best Birmingham Suburbs To Live In For 2023


The best Birmingham suburbs are Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

While big cities like Birmingham offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.

With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Birmingham. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Birmingham without actually having to be in the city.

Of course, not all suburbs of Birmingham are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Birmingham area.

Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Birmingham for 2023:

  1. Mountain Brook
  2. Vestavia Hills
  3. Kimberly
  4. Homewood
  5. Trussville
  6. Lake View
  7. Hoover
  8. Helena
  9. Chelsea
  10. Pelham

What’s the best suburb of Birmingham? Mountain Brook ranks as the best suburb of Birmingham for 2023 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Mountain Brook, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.

We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Birmingham ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.

Feel free to check out some more reading about Alabama:


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 10 Best Birmingham Suburbs To Live For 2023

Mountain Brook, AL

Source: Wikipedia User Robert Donovan from Franklin, TN, USA | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 22,184
Median Income: $150,268
Unemployment Rate: 1.4%
Poverty Rate: 4.0%
More on Mountain Brook: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Mountain Brook is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Birmingham area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Mountain Brook.”

Everyone here is rich; families average $150,268 a year, which is the highest in the Birmingham region. And only 1.36% are out of work. Homes average more than $697,800 each.

Vestavia Hills, AL

Source: Flickr User Andy Montgomery | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 38,504
Median Income: $118,539
Unemployment Rate: 1.6%
Poverty Rate: 3.8%
More on Vestavia Hills: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Vestavia Hills is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Birmingham for 2023.

It ranks 2nd for incomes in the area and only 2.8% of residents lack insurance, good for 4th best.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 3,792
Median Income: $98,882
Unemployment Rate: 1.5%
Poverty Rate: 5.2%
More on Kimberly: Data | Crime | Real Estate

Here in Kimberly, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Birmingham metro area.

The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.

But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Kimberly.

Homewood, AL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 26,206
Median Income: $89,433
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%
Poverty Rate: 7.9%
More on Homewood: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Homewood ranks as the 4th best suburb of Birmingham for 2023.

You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Homewood and the schools are some of the best around.

Trussville, AL

Source: Wikipedia User Joshhearts | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 25,027
Median Income: $108,070
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%
Poverty Rate: 3.7%
More on Trussville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Coming in as the fifth best is Trussville.

Trussville gets kudos for having the 5th most expensive homes in the Birmingham area, where houses sell for an average of $287,700. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,357
Median Income: $84,456
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%
Poverty Rate: 4.4%
More on Lake View: Data | Real Estate

Lake View is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.

Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 4.5%.

According to online reports, Lake View is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Birmingham area, meaning you need to get in soon.

Hoover, AL

Source: Wikipedia User Elizabeth Swift | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 91,371
Median Income: $95,970
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Poverty Rate: 6.6%
More on Hoover: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Hoover.

Hoover schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.

And, it’s only 10.4 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.

Helena, AL

Source: Wikipedia User Civilengtiger | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 20,680
Median Income: $96,173
Unemployment Rate: 2.7%
Poverty Rate: 4.8%
More on Helena: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Helena is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.

A solid 7.77% of people lack insurance, good for 23rd in the area.

Chelsea, AL

Source: Wikipedia User Rivers Langley; SaveRivers | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 14,710
Median Income: $93,658
Unemployment Rate: 4.8%
Poverty Rate: 3.0%
More on Chelsea: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Is ‘Everything Better In Chelsea?’

Almost.

It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.

Pelham, AL

Source: Wikipedia User Betsy | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 24,134
Median Income: $81,606
Unemployment Rate: 1.9%
Poverty Rate: 4.1%
More on Pelham: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

And rounding out the top ten for 2023 is Pelham.

This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Birmingham for 2023

Figuring out the best suburbs around Birmingham was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.

We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2017-2021 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:

  • Low unemployment rate
  • High median household incomes
  • Population density (lots of things to do)
  • High home values
  • A lot of college-educated people
  • Low poverty
  • High rate of insured families

We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Birmingham.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 41 suburbs to evaluate around Birmingham.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 41 in each category, where 1 was the “best.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.

Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Birmingham.” We’re lookin’ at you, Mountain Brook.

This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.

We updated the data for 2023. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Birmingham suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.

Summary: Welcome to the Best Birmingham ‘Burbs of 2023

We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.

So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Birmingham but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.

For more Alabama reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Birmingham Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income
1 Mountain Brook, AL 22,184 $150,268
2 Vestavia Hills, AL 38,504 $118,539
3 Kimberly, AL 3,792 $98,882
4 Homewood, AL 26,206 $89,433
5 Trussville, AL 25,027 $108,070
6 Lake View, AL 3,357 $84,456
7 Hoover, AL 91,371 $95,970
8 Helena, AL 20,680 $96,173
9 Chelsea, AL 14,710 $93,658
10 Pelham, AL 24,134 $81,606
11 Morris, AL 2,248 $84,375
12 Springville, AL 4,747 $56,106
13 Gardendale, AL 15,920 $74,608
14 Clay, AL 10,320 $74,265
15 Calera, AL 16,126 $70,504
16 Alabaster, AL 33,133 $83,181
17 Pleasant Grove, AL 9,638 $67,000
18 Argo, AL 4,411 $80,733
19 Margaret, AL 5,118 $64,992
20 Pinson, AL 7,242 $70,393
21 Moody, AL 13,100 $69,846
22 Leeds, AL 12,385 $62,432
23 Fultondale, AL 9,707 $72,766
24 Mount Olive, AL 2,139 $44,201
25 Irondale, AL 13,457 $63,010
26 Fairfield, AL 10,108 $43,914
27 Hueytown, AL 16,694 $58,151
28 Center Point, AL 16,422 $44,676
29 Montevallo, AL 6,968 $43,504
30 Columbiana, AL 4,197 $50,357
31 Sumiton, AL 2,676 $58,578
32 Midfield, AL 5,219 $46,929
33 Wilsonville, AL 2,167 $61,111
34 Dora, AL 2,725 $52,592
35 Graysville, AL 2,723 $50,216
36 Lipscomb, AL 2,113 $41,161
37 Tarrant, AL 6,137 $36,927
38 Brighton, AL 2,904 $28,125
39 Bessemer, AL 26,171 $32,416
40 Warrior, AL 3,211 $44,075
41 Adamsville, AL 4,381 $46,150
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.