Quality of Life

The cluster of communities that comprise the Birmingham region is not only a great place to live and raise a family; but, it's also a major tourist destination - accounting for more than 22% of Alabama's state lodging tax collected in 2007. For a comprehensive list of things to do, please visit the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Birmingham region provides:

  • Some of the largest and best  museums in the United States
  • A comprehensive art scene, including: symphony, ballet and opera
  • A major urban park system and quick access to regional state parks
  • Regional shopping amenities: Riverchase Galleria and The Summit
  • Sport venues: Birmingham Barons, Talladega Speedway and Barber Motorsports Park
  • Recreational amenities: Alabama Adventure theme park, Birmingham Zoo
  • Two of Alabama’s eleven world-renowned Robert Trent Jones golf courses.
  • Nationally recognized dining

Cost of Living

ACCRA Cost of Living
for Major Southeastern Metros

Composite Score 4th Quarter 2007
Rank Metro Composite Score
1 Charlotte – Gastonia - Concord                        89.7
2 Baton Rouge 91.2
3 Birmingham - Hoover 92.1
4 Nashville- Davidson- Murfreesboro 95.1
5 Atlanta - Sandy Springs - Marietta 96.1
6 Louisville 97.5
7 Tampa - St Petersburg - Clearwater    98.6
8 Jacksonville 98.7
9 Raleigh 99.3
10 New Orleans - Metairie - Kenner 99.6
11 Orlando - Kissimmee 103.4
12 Richmond 106.4
12 Virginia Beach-Norfolk - Newport 106.8
14 Miami-Fort Lauderdale- Miami Beach   115.4
15 Memphis n/a
ACCRA : 4th Quarter 2007  

A high quality of life coupled with a competitive cost of living gives the Birmingham region a competitive advantage for business and entrepreneurial development. According to ACCRA, the Birmingham / Hoover Metropolitan Area has the third lowest cost of living among the top fifteen largest population centers in the eleven-state Southeastern region. ACCRA evaluates the cost of living for more than 300 U.S. metros regarding the following six categories: grocery items, housing, utilities, transportation, healthcare and miscellaneous goods and services. Factoring the cost associated with each category, all metropolitan areas are given a composite score. The U.S. average composite score is 100. The higher a composite score is above 100, the higher the cost of living is in that metropolitan area. For example: Miami has the highest cost of living among major metropolitan areas in the Southeastern U.S. with a composite score of 115. Only Charlotte and Baton Rouge have a lower cost of living than Birmingham.

 

Housing

March 2008 Home Selling Price Comparisons

Region 3/08 Average  Price 3/08 Median Price
Metro Birmingham  $195,950  $159,900
North  $167,630  $153,000
South  $276,796  $210,000
East  $138,902  $129,900
West  $97,436  $87,600
National (U.S.)  $247,700  $200,700

Housing cost in Metropolitan Birmingham is considerably lower compared to the national housing cost. The Metropolitan Birmingham average home price for March 2008 was $195,950 compared to a U.S. average home price of $247,700. The southern metropolitan region posted the highest average housing cost at $276,796. Major cities in this region include: Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Hoover, Pelham and Alabaster. The western metropolitan region posted the lowest average housing cost at $97,436. Major communities in this region includes: western Birmingham, Fairfield, Bessemer, Hueytown and McCalla.

Public Schools

Area School Systems Ranked by ACT Scores

Rank School System 2006  Avg. ACT Score 2006 Tested 2006 Advanced Diplomas  2006 Total Diplomas Advanced Diplomas as a Percentage of Total Diplomas
1 Mountain Brook City 25.40 269 253 308 82%
2 Vestavia Hills City 23.70 338 265 374 71%
3 Hoover City 22.80 643 495 743 67%
4 Homewood City 22.30 205 152 223 68%
5 Oneonta City 21.70 62 43 82 52%
6 Shelby County 21.70 1,121 604 1427 42%
7 Jasper City 21.30 143 101 181 56%
8 Trussville City 21.20 234 189 271 70%
  U.S. 21.10 1,300,599 n/a n/a n/a
9 Blount County 20.30 270 193 441 44%
  Alabama 20.20 26,723 15,963 40,442 39%
10 St. Clair County 19.90 173 126 410 31%
11 Pell City City 19.80 135 19 231 8%
12 Jefferson County 19.80 1,528 987 2166 46%
13 Chilton County 19.60 252 207 413 50%
14 Walker County 19.50 233 194 443 44%
15 Bibb County 19.10 117 73 198 37%
16 Fairfield City 17.80 95 67 121 55%
17 Tarrant City 17.50 32 10 72 14%
18 Birmingham City 17.30 874 231 1721 13%
19 Bessemer City 17.20 67 26 154 17%
20 Midfield City 16.30 46 4 65 6%
  Leeds City n/a n/a 19 67 28%
Source: Alabama Department of Education      

The Birmingham/Hoover Metropolitan Area has some of the best public schools in the nation. According to Newsweek, three of the nation's top public schools are located in the Birmingham region. The Jefferson County IBS ranks 4th; Mountain Brook ranks 214 and Hoover's Spain Park ranks 1,313.

The table to the right shows a ranking of school systems based on 2006 average ACT scores for all public high schools. Eight metropolitan area school systems exceed the national average ACT score. Four metropolitan school systems have exceptional scores on the ACT. Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Hoover and Homewood city school systems have an average ACT score of at least 22; with at least 67% of students graduating in 2006 with advanced diplomas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA)

Located in Downtown Birmingham, the Alabama School of Fine Arts is a partially residential public school authorized and funded by the Alabama Legislature to provide tuition-free instruction to talented students, grades 7-12. The school provides focused specialty instruction in creative writing, dance, mathematics and science, music, theatre arts and visual arts, plus core academic courses necessary to earn an Alabama high school diploma. In 2007 ASFA graduates were awarded over $4-million in college scholarships, grants and awards. The average ACT score was 26.4.