What it's like to live in Moody
Moody is a small city in Alabama with home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Moody deals with larger class sizes than the national average, above-average rainfall, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.
The good
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment in the county
- Low crime rates
The not so good
- High student-teacher ratio
- Above-average rainfall
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
How Moody compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Moody
Based on Moody's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$3,106
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $62,120 a year
- 33% of Moody renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$47,500
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $23,750
- Homes cost 2.7× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of livingNear US average
$1,553/mo median rent
Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,553 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 $237,500. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.
Median home value $237,500 · 33% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
2.3% county unemployment
Unemployment in St. Clair County is 2.3%, 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.
St. Clair County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 56% below US
146 violent crimes per 100k
Safety is genuinely one of the selling points here. Both violent and property crime run well below the national average, the kind of numbers that fade into the background after a week of living somewhere.
Property crime 563/100k · Moody Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
27 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 27.3 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 20% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 89°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 33°F. It's a wet climate overall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 20% below US
29% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 29%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
5 public schools inside the boundary
There are 5 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 22:1, above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument (19 miles away). There are 7 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Moody's strongest points are home prices that remain within reach and county unemployment below the national average; the main tradeoffs are above-average rainfall and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city. A year of median rent ($1,553/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), anyone prioritizing low crime, and remote workers (20% of workers here already work from home).
Other places near Moody
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