A miner's home. Brookside, Alabama, 1937
Brookside’s story
140 years in pictures
The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1937.
- 1886Brookside is settled
BrooksideAL
A town of 1,433, settled in 1886.
Population
1,433
2025 Census estimate · +14.9% since 2020
Median home value
$107K
Census ACS
Household income
$59K
median
Median age
33.5
years
Jobs based here
41
A commuter town
Is Brookside a good place to live?
Brookside’s best subject grade is an A+ for cost of living; its weakest is a D for walkability. 27% of residents live below the poverty line in Brookside, against 16% in Alabama’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. No town among the 188 in Alabama we compare has a lower share of working residents who work in town than Brookside. Brookside's public schools trail 69% of Alabama towns on state tests and graduation. Brookside's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 87% of U.S. towns. Brookside has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Small town
1,433 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
AdamsvilleMount OliveCardiffGraysvilleForestdaleBirminghamGardendaleBrookside
How Brookside grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Brookside is from typical.
Cost of livingTypical home $107K, 1.5 years of the Birmingham metro’s $71K median household incomeA+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 4.9 of 20; 13.8% of households have no car; 0.3% of workers walk, bike or ride transitDOpen →SafetyC−Open →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listC−Open →Jobs & income$59K median household income; 41 jobs based hereCOpen →SchoolsCOpen →HealthPrinceton Baptist Medical Center 9.9 miles awayB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
OutdoorsConserved land, trails and parksC−Open →HistoryCOpen →Civic life2.9 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsDOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 30 attractions →Legion Field and 20 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brookside. Close and well known come first.
9 mi Stadium & arenaLegion Field
9 mi Stadium & arenaProtective Stadium
10 mi MuseumSloss Furnaces
9 mi Stadium & arenaLegacy Arena24 mi LakeLewis Smith Lake
9 mi Stadium & arenaBirmingham–Jefferson Convention ComplexSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Legion Field: USGS, Public domain · Protective Stadium: Unknown, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sloss Furnaces: DXR, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Legacy Arena: AuburnShuffle, CC0 · Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex: Chris Pruitt, CC BY-SA 3.0
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Brookside: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brookside, and how to reach them.
PowerAlabama Power17.9¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterBrookside Water WorksNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers95% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Brookside’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Alabama you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person until 15 days before Election Day, or by mail (received 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereJefferson - Bessemer County Circuit ClerkJefferson County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2019
ZIP codes35214, 35073, 35036, 3511735214 62% · 35073 18% · 35036 13% · 35117 7%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Brookside.
SafetyC−
More crime per resident in Brookside than in 81% of U.S. towns
Brookside’s property crime rate is 9.4 per 1,000 residents, below the Alabama town median (16.9) and near the median of U.S. towns (9.9).
19%of U.S. towns report more crimeC−Safety Grade
| Brookside | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.4 per 1,000 residents | 16.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Brookside2.9
Alabama3.5
U.S.3.3
Property crime per 1,000 residents
Brookside9.4
Alabama15
U.S.15.5
19th
percentile among U.S. towns we grade
4
violent crimes reported in 2025
13
property crimes reported in 2025
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C
With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Brookside’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Brookside for work: only 0% work in town. Brookside’s average trip to work is 27 minutes. The top destinations are Birmingham (38%), Homewood (6%) and Hoover (6%).
0%work in town
| Brookside | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Brookside0%
Birmingham38%
Homewood6%
Hoover6%
Gardendale4%
13 mi
median commute distance
41
jobs based in Brookside
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
D
Walkability grade: more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C−
Brookside faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 78% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 22 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Brookside.
78risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingTornadoesCold waves
22
paid flood claims since 1979
4
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
In Brookside, expect mild winters and hot summers
Brookside has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Brookside is 91°F.
1″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter35–57°
Spring50–75°
Summer69–90°
Fall52–75°
Nov 11
typical first frost
Mar 21
typical last frost
+1.0°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthB−
Brookside is less healthy than 54% of U.S. towns
Brookside beats the Alabama average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 37% of adults feel lonely in Brookside.
46%healthier than U.S. townsB−Health Grade
| Brookside | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 36% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 43% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 40% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 12% |
32 measures vs. Alabama
7 better25 too close to call0 worse
| What stands out | Brookside | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.2% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.1% | 9.6% |
Princeton Baptist Medical Center
9.9 mi away · emergency room
2 of 3
care shortages: primary care, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
HousingCost of living grade A+
A home in Brookside sells for about $260K at the median
$260Kmedian sale price
3
homes sold in May
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Brookside
18pages on Brookside
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
7 within 15 miles of the center of Brookside
Strayer University-AlabamaUniversity or college · Private for-profit · Birmingham9.9 mi$13,920 tuitionUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamUniversity or college · Public · Birmingham10.6 mi$9,098 in-state tuitionJefferson State Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Birmingham10.7 mi$5,100 in-state tuition
About 2 of every 100 Brookside residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Alabama.
A commuter town
100% of working residents leave Brookside for work
Where Brookside’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
41jobs based in Brookside
0%of working residents work in town
13 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Brookside
Town in Alabama, United States
Brookside is a town in north-central Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 1,253. It is a former mining town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1886
- Area
- 6.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 361 ft
- ZIP code
- 35036
- Area code
- 205
Questions about Brookside
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Brookside, AL expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $107,000, 55% below the Alabama typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.