Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Hoover grades A− overall, ranked 19th of 187 in Alabama. Its schools outperform 95% of the state's. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 91% of the country and the median household earns $109K. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $438K, 6.1 years of the Birmingham metro’s $71K median household income. 63% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Hoover, against 23% in Alabama’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. On civic life, just 18 of Alabama’s 258 towns do better. Stonecroft is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Hoover beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Trace Crossings Elementary School | PK–5 | 769 |
| Deer Valley Elementary School | PK–5 | 735 |
| Bluff Park Elementary School | K–5 | 658 |
81,619 counted in 2010 and 92,606 in 2020; an estimated 93,550 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alabama), ordered by how far Hoover is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 688 in 1970, 92,606 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1992 and 4 maps from 1905 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hoover. Close and well known come first.
10 mi Stadium & arenaLegion Field
11 mi Stadium & arenaProtective Stadium
10 mi MuseumSloss Furnaces
10 mi Stadium & arenaLegacy Arena11 mi Theme parkAlabama Adventure & Splash Adventure
10 mi Stadium & arenaBirmingham–Jefferson Convention ComplexLegion 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hoover, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Hoover.
Hoover fares better on crime within Alabama than nationally and has schools in the top 5% of Alabama, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Alabama.
At 6.1 years of the Birmingham metro’s $71K median household income, the typical home (about $438K) costs more against local pay than in 95% of Alabama towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $2,486, against $788 across Alabama, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Hoover’s median rent is $1,457 a month. The typical Hoover home is worth about $438,000, up 2.9% in a year, 83% above the Alabama typical home.
| Hoover | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,457 a month | $940 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A+ ranks #7 of the 187 Alabama towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Hoover City school district. Three of its 23 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert F Bumpus Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,192 | A |
| Hoover High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,919 | A− |
| Bluff Park Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 658 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AL on state tests and graduation
37 miles of trail in 28 parks and preserves. The trail density in Hoover is 0.7 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Moss Rock Preserve, 355 acres with 9.8 miles of trail.
| Hoover | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Moss Rock Preserve | 9.8 mi | 355 |
| 2. Hoover Metropolitan Complex | 3.3 mi | 172 |
| 3. Hoover Sports Park East | 1.8 mi | 49 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Alabama is tooth loss: 7.8% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 15.4% statewide.
10% of adults report frequent physical distress in Hoover. Hoover beats the Alabama average on 25 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 9.1% of adults smoke cigarettes in Hoover.
| Hoover | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 24% | 19% |
| What stands out | Hoover | AL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.8% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.6% | 19.2% |
| More binge drinkers | 16.3% | 14.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Hoover has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 91°, January nights drop to 33° and about 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Hoover for work: only 18% work in town. 5.1% of Hoover residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Hoover has added 3,146 jobs, to 55,432 in 2023.
| Hoover | Alabama towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $109,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.1% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 16% | 6.7% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
130 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 19 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 130 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hoover.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 15.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 86% of Alabama’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,385 to 1,022 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
6 within 15 miles of the center of Hoover
About 5 of every 100 Hoover residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Alabama.
10 notable people were born in Hoover.
City in Alabama, United States
Hoover is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties in north central Alabama, United States. The sixth-largest city in Alabama, its population was 92,606 at the 2020 census. Hoover is part of the Birmingham metropolitan statistical area and is also included in the Birmingham-Cullman-Talladega combined statistical area. Hoover's territory is along the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The Birmingham Barons Minor League Baseball team, which traces its history to 1885, played its home games at the 10,800-seat Hoover Metropolitan Stadium from 1988 through 2013, when it moved to Regions Field in the Parkside District of Birmingham.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Hoover.
Birmingham next door grades lower for schools (D to Hoover’s A+) and higher for cost of living (B to C−).
| Town | AL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoover | #19 | A− | C− | B | A+ | A |
| Helena | #15 | A− | C+ | A | B− | A |
| Vestavia Hills | #10 | A | D | A− | A+ | A |
| Meadowbrook | #9 | A | C+ | — | A− | A+ |
| Birmingham | #164 | D− | B | D− | D | D |
| Bessemer | #177 | D− | B+ | D− | D− | D |
| Eagle Point | #1 | A+ | B | — | A− | A |
| Indian Springs Village | #7 | A | C | — | A− | A |
Meadowbrook, Eagle Point and Indian Springs Village report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Hoover with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Hoover grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns and #19 of 187 in Alabama. It grades A for health, B for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
10 notable people were born here, including Marlon Humphrey and George Pickens.
