By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

A “Best places to live in Alabama” list recently compiled by a national ranking website nearly mirrors a Shelby County city directory, as several area communities dotted the ranking’s top 25.

The Niche.com website recently published its “Best places to live” list for 2018, and based the rankings on data from the U.S. Census, the FBI, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control. While calculating the list, the website considered everything from higher education rates and housing markets to commute times and weather.

Hoover, which has a population of 84,100 and is partially in Shelby County, came in at No. 4 on the list behind Madison, Homewood and Vestavia Hills. Hoover earned an overall Niche.com grade of A-plus, and grades of A-plus in public schools, A in housing, A-plus for family friendliness, B-minus for crime and safety, B for nightlife and A for diversity.

Indian Springs Village, with a population of about 2,500, came in at No. 7 on the list, posting an overall grade of A-plus and grades of A-minus in public schools, A in housing, A-plus for family friendliness, B for nightlife and B-minus for diversity.

Meadowbrook, which is near the U.S. 280 corridor and has a population of about 8,500, came in at No. 8 on the list, posting an overall grade of A and grades of A-minus for public schools, A for housing, A for family friendliness, B for nightlife and B-minus for diversity.

Helena came in just behind Meadowbrook at No. 9, earning an overall grade of A and grades of A-minus for public schools, A for housing, A-plus for family friendliness, B for crime and safety, B-minus for nightlife and B-plus for diversity.

Pelham came in at No. 10 on the list, earning an overall grade of A. Pelham earned grades of A-minus for public schools, A for housing, A for family friendliness, B for crime and safety, B for nightlife and A-minus for diversity.

Shelby County’s largest city, Alabaster, came in at No. 14 on the list, earning an overall grade of A and grades of A-minus for schools, A-minus for housing, A for family friendliness, B for crime and safety, B-minus for nightlife and A-minus for diversity.

Calera came in at No. 15 on the list, posting an overall grade of A and grades of A-minus for public schools, A for housing, A for family friendliness, B-minus for nightlife and A-minus for diversity.

Chelsea, another community on the 280 corridor, came in at No. 17, posting an overall grade of A and scores of A-minus for public schools, A for housing, A for family friendliness, B-minus for nightlife and B-minus for diversity.

Brook Highland, which is also along U.S. 280, rounded out Shelby County’s showing in the top 25, coming in at No. 23. The community earned an overall grade of A-minus and grades of A-minus for public schools, B-minus for housing, A-minus for family friendliness, B-plus for nightlife and A-minus for diversity.

To view the full list, visit Niche.com/places-to-live/search/best-places-to-live/s/alabama.