35243 — Vestavia Hills, Alabama
Area Profile
Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 35243. Its median household income runs 26% below Vestavia Hills as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 15 sources35243 ranks in the top 21% of ZIP areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 2.8% and median household income of $99,645. The unemployment rate is published for Vestavia Hills, AL, which contains 35243, rather than for 35243 alone.
Public schools test above most of the state: 68% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 9% of published profiles for schools.
Residential permitting has slowed: 40 units authorized over the past twelve months, 63% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Vestavia Hills, AL, which contains 35243, rather than for 35243 alone.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Vestavia Hills, AL, which contains 35243, is 2.8%, lower than in 97% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.
Employment across Vestavia Hills, AL, which contains 35243, fell 1.9% over the past year, to 17,884 employed residents.
72% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 97% of measured US ZIP areas.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsJefferson County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $66,572 | 47th percentileof 2,996 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftJefferson County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $72,832 | 58th percentileof 2,996 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$10,7152024 ACS 5-Year | $99,645 | Top 19%of 31,049 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$8,7732024 ACS 5-Year | $79,245 | Top 4%of 32,822 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.4% | Top 17%of 32,846 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 21.5 min | Top 18%of 32,887 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 72.4% | Top 3%of 33,193 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 80.0% | 66th percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentVestavia Hills, AL’s figureJuly 2026 | 17,884 | Bottom 15%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Vestavia Hills, AL’s figureJuly 2026 | −1.6% | Bottom 30%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Vestavia Hills, AL’s figureJuly 2026 | −1.9% | Bottom 24%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceVestavia Hills, AL’s figureJuly 2026 | 18,401 | 15th percentileof 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 86.8% | Top 14%of 32,883 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageBirmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $60,770 | Bottom 26%of 2,760 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageBirmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $47,770 | Bottom 29%of 2,760 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 1st percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Vestavia Hills, AL’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.7% | Bottom 11%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateVestavia Hills, AL’s figureJuly 2026 | 2.8% | Top 3%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 14.9% | 72nd percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Birmingham, AL
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | 17,850 | $78,680 |
| Retail Salespersons | 15,280 | $31,450 |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 10,900 | $44,580 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 10,890 | $35,660 |
| Cashiers | 10,690 | $29,310 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 10,080 | $27,020 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Vestavia Hills, AL, the city containing this ZIP code.
68% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 69% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 15.3 students for every full-time teacher across 3 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge | Vestavia Hills City | 657 | 16.0 | — | — |
| Rocky Ridge Elementary School | Hoover City | 577 | 14.1 | 61% | 62% |
| Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights | Vestavia Hills City | 451 | 16.1 | 77% | 77% |
20.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Alabama’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 8% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 91.8, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Birmingham, AL Metro Area is up 39% over five years, and up 3.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,007 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.74% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,690, close to the $1,683 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,690 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $67,600 a year, about 68% of the median household income here of $99,645.
The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,683 a month.
A median home at $538,400 costs 3.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $148,879, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
Prices here run about 8% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Birmingham, AL Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against 35243’s median household income of $99,645, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Birmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2023 | 91.8 | Top 18%of 2,737 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Birmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +3.4% | 54th percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Birmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +38.9% | 33rd percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Birmingham, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +85.4% | 33rd percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year | 3.6 | Bottom 24%of 29,275 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 54.1% | 11th percentileof 32,750 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±7292024 ACS 5-Year | 10,186 | 84th percentileof 33,460 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,540 | Bottom 33%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $2,110 | Bottom 44%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,690 | Bottom 42%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$662024 ACS 5-Year | $1,683 | Bottom 16%of 26,396 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$49,0802024 ACS 5-Year | $538,400 | 89th percentileof 30,812 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$3422024 ACS 5-Year | $4,007 | 81st percentileof 28,935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$14,1762024 ACS 5-Year | $148,879 | Top 7%of 29,802 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.74% | 37th percentileof 24,099 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 28.0% | Top 48%of 26,247 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±1142024 ACS 5-Year | 117 | 78th percentileof 33,772 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.1% | 51st percentileof 32,961 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 12.2% | 75th percentileof 32,788 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±3572024 ACS 5-Year | 1,361 | 92nd percentileof 33,772 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 40 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Vestavia Hills, AL, which contains 35243, rather than for 35243 alone.
At 1.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Vestavia Hills, AL, which contains 35243, rather than for 35243 alone.
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Shelby County, AL 3,920 people · 18% of arrivals
- St. Clair County, AL 1,305 people · 6.0% of arrivals
- Tuscaloosa County, AL 1,043 people · 4.8% of arrivals
- Blount County, AL 666 people · 3.1% of arrivals
- Walker County, AL 600 people · 2.8% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Shelby County, AL 5,207 people · 21% of departures
- St. Clair County, AL 2,090 people · 8.5% of departures
- Tuscaloosa County, AL 1,004 people · 4.1% of departures
- Blount County, AL 847 people · 3.5% of departures
- Madison County, AL 736 people · 3.0% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Jefferson County, AL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Vestavia Hills, AL, the city containing this ZIP code.
Weather & climate
6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 35°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 56.6 inches, including 1.4 inches of snow.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 79 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 56.6" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 1.4" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 35°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 91°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 6 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 6 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 57 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 37°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 55% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.
Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, heat wave, strong wind, ice storm, wildfire, winter weather, hurricane, hail, drought, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 35243 (Jefferson County) rather than 35243 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Vestavia Hills carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Intl at 9 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 95.5% | Top 18%of 32,663 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 9 mi | Top 21%of 3,127 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 3 | Bottom 21%of 3,127 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.9% | Top 13%of 32,663 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Intl | BHM | 9 mi | 12,007 ft |
| Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld) | MGM | 81 mi | 9,020 ft |
| Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones Fld | HSV | 83 mi | 10,001 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
35243 vs Vestavia Hills
How this ZIP area compares with Vestavia Hills as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.
Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.