Living in Athens, AL
Suburb in Alabama
Athens is a suburb in Alabama, home to about 27,000 people, with 444,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, a car is essential. Life moves at a slow, calm pace, and homes are mostly houses.
Is Athens a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Low taxes: about $1,147 state income tax per resident, 0.36% property tax
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $282k and rents for $1,690 a month
- Dog-friendly: 1 dog park within 9 mi
- Low natural disaster risk: 6 federally declared disasters since 2000
👎 Cons
- Quieter on culture: few museums and attractions nearby
- Fewer outdoor escapes: no big hills or water close by
- Smaller job market: about 444,000 people live within 31 mi
- Fewer graduates: 31% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Athens ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Athens: common questions
What is the cost of living in Athens?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $282k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,690 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are below the US average (index 87, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Athens?
Alabama collects about $1,147 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.36% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Athens safe?
Athens isn't in the FBI's 2019 city crime table, so Best Life Fit Me counts its safety as average.
How are the schools in Athens?
Public schools in Athens test below the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 18 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Athens?
Athens has mild winters: winter days average around 54°F and summer days around 89°F.
Does Athens get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from flooding, cold waves and earthquakes: 6 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 1.55 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Athens?
The nearest major airport is BHM, about 84 mi away.
How Athens scores
Each bar compares Athens with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Athens
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
Is Athens right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.