The most family friendly places in a state are the places that have the best neighborhoods, the best schools, the best shopping, and the most family friendly amenities; and, folks, Alabama has some of the best in the South.
Where are the most family friendly places in the The Yellowhammer State? You’re going to have to take a look below at HomeSnacks list of the best places to raise your family in Alabama for 2026 to find out.
But first, how did we determine the most family friendly places in Alabama? We consulted the US Census on places in The Heart of Dixie with more than 10,000 residents. We looked at several factors: crime, education, family friendly activities, and the percent of households that currently have children. We ended up with 56 family friendly Alabama places that any family would be lucky to call home.
Matter of fact, if you ask any Alabamian, they will tell you that Alabama is the best and that their corner of the state is above the rest. They will also tell you that what the state doesn’t make up in wealth, they make up in friendly people and fun things to do and see.
Speaking of family friendly entertainment, when Alabama families are ready for some fun in the sun, there is plenty of family friendly fun to be had. We think the best family day in this southern paradise would go something like this: first, a trip to the Birmingham Zoo; then, a visit to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville.
So, want to see a list of Alabama’s best places for families? Read on.
$87,250 median income · 32.7% households with kids
Located in
Baldwin County, Alabama
Daphne is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The city is located along I-10, 11 miles east of Mobile and 170 miles southwest of the state capital of Montgomery. The 2010 United States Census lists the population of the city as 21,570, making Daphne the most populous city in Baldwin County. It is a principal city of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area, which includes all of Baldwin County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$94,274 median income · 27.5% households with kids
Located in
Baldwin County, Alabama
Fairhope is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, on a sloping plateau, along the cliffs and shoreline of Mobile Bay. The 2010 census lists the population of the city as 15,326. Fairhope is a principal city of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley micropolitan area, which includes all of Baldwin County. In 2016, Fairhope was named the best small town in the South by Southern Living magazine.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$115,139 median income · 40.0% households with kids
Located in
Shelby County, Alabama
Helena is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties in the state of Alabama. Helena is considered a suburb of Birmingham and part of the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,793. Helena is highly regarded as a place to live and raise children; Business Week named Helena the 13th “Best Place to Raise Your Kids” in 2007. It has the eighth-lowest crime rate per population in the U.S., and the city was ranked in Money magazine’s 2007 list of “Best Places to Live: Top 100” in the U.S., placing at number 91. The Alabama League of Municipalities awarded Helena the 2008 Municipal Achievement Award.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$134,369 median income · 36.2% households with kids
Located in
Shelby County, Alabama
Vestavia Hills is a city in Jefferson and Shelby counties in the State of Alabama. It is a suburb of the city of Birmingham. As of the 2010 census, its population was 34,033, up from 24,476 in 2000. It moved up from the fifth largest city in Jefferson County in 2000 to the third largest in 2010, behind Birmingham and Hoover.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$134,655 median income · 40.2% households with kids
Located in
Madison County, Alabama
Madison is a city located primarily in Madison County, near the northern border of the State of Alabama. Madison extends west into neighboring Limestone County. The city is included in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area, the second-largest in the state, and is also included in the merged Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 42,938. Madison is bordered by Huntsville on all sides.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$201,479 median income · 39.8% households with kids
Located in
Jefferson County, Alabama
Mountain Brook is a town in southeastern Jefferson County, Alabama, United States and an upper-middle-class suburb of Birmingham. Its estimated 2015 population is 20,691. It is one of the state’s most affluent places.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$99,346 median income · 34.7% households with kids
Located in
Baldwin County, Alabama
Spanish Fort is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. The 2010 census lists the population of the city as 6,798. It is a suburb of Mobile and is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley micropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$123,275 median income · 38.2% households with kids
Located in
St. Clair County, Alabama
Trussville is a city in Jefferson and St. Clair counties in the State of Alabama. It is a suburb of Birmingham and part of the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its estimated 2015 population was 21,023.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$61,224 median income · 35.6% households with kids
Located in
Cullman County, Alabama
Cullman is a city and the county seat of Cullman County, Alabama, United States. It is located along Interstate 65, about 50 miles north of Birmingham and about 55 miles south of Huntsville. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 14,775, with an estimated population of 15,496 in 2016.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$63,668 median income · 26.0% households with kids
Located in
Lee County, Alabama
Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama with a 2016 population of 63,118. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population of 158,991, along with the Columbus, GA-AL MSA and Tuskegee, Alabama, comprises the greater Columbus-Auburn-Opelika, GA-AL CSA, a region home to 501,649 residents.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Alabama’s statewide median.
Alabama statewide median: $63,999
Alabama statewide median: $236,453
On the map
Where Alabama’s most family-friendly cities are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which place is best for families in Alabama anyways?
To give you the places in Alabama that are best for families, we must look at a handful of metrics. We want to measure the criteria people want in a family-friendly city utilizing Saturday Night Science.
After researching U.S. Census data produced for the state of Alabama, we looked at the data for every single city in the state. We paid particular attention to:
- Crime (Both violent and property)
- Quality of local schools
- Distance to a major city without necessarily being in it
- % of households with children
- Family-friendly amenities nearby (museums, libraries, and colleges)
We then gave each city a “Family Score.”
The higher the score, the better the city is for families. We also limited our results to cities with over 10,000 people. For Alabama, that meant a total of 56 cities.
We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the best cities for families in Alabama.
The full plate
Best Places For Families In Alabama
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price | % Households w/ Kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daphne | 29,453 | $87,250 | $326,736 | 32.7% |
| 2 | Fairhope | 24,190 | $94,274 | $459,930 | 27.5% |
| 3 | Helena | 21,769 | $115,139 | $363,042 | 40.0% |
| 4 | Vestavia Hills | 38,616 | $134,369 | $561,213 | 36.2% |
| 5 | Madison | 60,106 | $134,655 | $374,497 | 40.2% |
| 6 | Mountain Brook | 22,029 | $201,479 | $1,028,341 | 39.8% |
| 7 | Spanish Fort | 10,662 | $99,346 | $379,955 | 34.7% |
| 8 | Trussville | 26,673 | $123,275 | $394,833 | 38.2% |
| 9 | Cullman | 19,319 | $61,224 | $261,636 | 35.6% |
| 10 | Auburn | 80,594 | $63,668 | $412,908 | 26.0% |
| 11 | Hoover | 92,642 | $109,253 | $437,228 | 33.4% |
| 12 | Prattville | 39,482 | $81,337 | $262,195 | 34.1% |
| 13 | Jasper | 14,442 | $66,238 | $168,864 | 34.6% |
| 14 | Athens | 29,002 | $69,922 | $307,881 | 27.5% |
| 15 | Gulf Shores | 16,401 | $78,188 | $450,266 | 23.8% |
| 16 | Gardendale | 16,534 | $82,192 | $266,523 | 31.4% |
| 17 | Pelham | 24,827 | $101,094 | $323,686 | 32.0% |
| 18 | Calera | 17,714 | $87,194 | $254,701 | 41.9% |
| 19 | Homewood | 27,829 | $94,485 | $558,046 | 36.4% |
| 20 | Fort Payne | 14,927 | $47,479 | $203,035 | 32.7% |
| 21 | Huntsville | 222,791 | $74,714 | $287,569 | 23.4% |
| 22 | Hartselle | 15,847 | $76,290 | $246,208 | 31.9% |
| 23 | Scottsboro | 15,712 | $53,929 | $213,721 | 32.3% |
| 24 | Irondale | 13,464 | $72,343 | $289,627 | 17.4% |
| 25 | Moody | 13,488 | $86,627 | $259,875 | 26.8% |
| 26 | Jacksonville | 14,437 | $51,814 | $211,263 | 24.1% |
| 27 | Alabaster | 33,917 | $91,357 | $303,750 | 35.9% |
| 28 | Leeds | 12,028 | $69,737 | $249,223 | 31.2% |
| 29 | Russellville | 10,799 | $58,231 | $178,141 | 40.4% |
| 30 | Muscle Shoals | 16,951 | $75,894 | $260,072 | 30.2% |
| 31 | Montgomery | 197,494 | $56,811 | $151,228 | 30.5% |
| 32 | Mobile | 203,416 | $53,558 | $194,564 | 26.6% |
| 33 | Saraland | 16,404 | $61,509 | $233,993 | 30.7% |
| 34 | Gadsden | 33,374 | $40,345 | $114,158 | 28.5% |
| 35 | Troy | 17,716 | $50,717 | $181,784 | 21.9% |
| 36 | Valley | 10,277 | $51,661 | $177,525 | 33.0% |
| 37 | Foley | 24,026 | $66,336 | $301,570 | 15.7% |
| 38 | Albertville | 22,813 | $56,099 | $214,034 | 37.3% |
| 39 | Opelika | 32,820 | $65,004 | $304,313 | 28.9% |
| 40 | Florence | 41,701 | $52,174 | $210,214 | 23.9% |
| 41 | Oxford | 22,063 | $74,268 | $195,937 | 32.2% |
| 42 | Eufaula | 12,584 | $47,392 | $163,743 | 30.7% |
| 43 | Birmingham | 198,173 | $46,051 | $135,870 | 20.6% |
| 44 | Selma | 17,057 | $33,197 | $79,209 | 26.8% |
| 45 | Talladega | 14,760 | $44,198 | $143,575 | 27.6% |
| 46 | Hueytown | 16,414 | $62,784 | $163,400 | 39.9% |
| 47 | Prichard | 18,961 | $36,588 | $57,932 | 31.0% |
| 48 | Enterprise | 29,505 | $73,125 | $202,764 | 32.9% |
| 49 | Millbrook | 17,189 | $70,313 | $218,705 | 31.3% |
| 50 | Sylacauga | 12,309 | $50,017 | $166,281 | 30.8% |
| 51 | Tuscaloosa | 111,038 | $51,464 | $228,947 | 23.2% |
| 52 | Decatur | 57,361 | $61,563 | $224,155 | 25.4% |
| 53 | Anniston | 21,271 | $46,668 | $147,195 | 25.3% |
| 54 | Dothan | 71,514 | $55,792 | $203,928 | 27.0% |
| 55 | Ozark | 14,327 | $48,944 | $143,766 | 28.1% |
| 56 | Bessemer | 25,400 | $39,613 | $133,911 | 21.4% |
Source: U.S. Census data via Saturday Night Science. 56 Alabama cities with more than 10,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: The Best Places To Raise A Family In Alabama
If you’re looking for a breakdown of cities in Alabama ranked by criteria that most agree make a place a great spot for families, this is an accurate list.
The best places for families in Alabama are Daphne, Fairhope, Helena, Vestavia Hills, Madison, Mountain Brook, Spanish Fort, Trussville, Cullman, and Auburn.
