What it's like to live in Calera
Calera is a small city in Alabama with home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and a population that has grown fast since 2020. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Calera deals with commute times longer than most cities, larger class sizes than the national average, hot summers, and above-average rainfall.
The good
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment in the county
- Fast-growing population
The not so good
- Above-average commute times
- High student-teacher ratio
- Hot summers
- Above-average rainfall
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Calera compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Calera
Based on Calera's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$3,202
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $64,040 a year
- 40% of Calera renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$47,060
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $23,530
- Homes cost 2.7× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 13% above US
$1,601/mo median rent
Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,601 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $235,300. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.
Median home value $235,300 · 40% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
2.2% county unemployment
Unemployment in Shelby County is 2.2%, well below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Shelby County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 20% below US
263 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 1266/100k · Calera Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▲ 27% above US
33 min average commute
Traffic is a real factor here. The 33 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 16% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 90°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 38°F. It's a wet climate overall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforceNear US average
37% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 37% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
4 public schools inside the boundary
There are 4 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 18:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument (27 miles away). There are 6 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Calera's strongest points are home prices that remain within reach and county unemployment below the national average; the main tradeoffs are commute times longer than most cities and hot summers. A year of median rent ($1,601/mo) equals 22% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low) and remote workers (16% of workers here already work from home). It may be a harder fit for people who dread long commutes.
Other places near Calera
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