Here's what Huntsville ranks best in the nation for

City of Huntsville ranks well consistently — Here’s what’s open and what’s closed on Memorial Day in the Huntsville area. (McCarley Northway / Hville Blast)

Huntsville ranks consistently at the top of numerous lists starting with “Best in…”, “Top places to…”, “Where you can find the best…”, etc.

I wanted to look at these rankings to collect in one place, so we can see why organizations consistently rank Huntsville as one of the best cities in the country.

Categories Huntsville ranks best in

General

“Best places to live in the US” – ranked 7th by US News.

“Huntsville’s city center has undergone a renaissance in recent years. An outbreak of new construction downtown means more shopping, dining and apartment options are available.”
Anna Claire Vollers, US News

Schools

“Best place to live in Alabama” with an A+ in public schools (Niche.com)

One of the things that Huntsville ranks well in nationally is their school systems. Particularly in Madison, the elementary, middle, and high schools are highly rated.

“Living in Madison offers residents a sparse suburban feel and most residents own their homes. In Madison there are a lot of parks, and many families and young professionals live there.”
Niche.com

Family friendly

Family of Gary who's getting his MBA at UNA — The schools and shops in Huntsville make it an excellent place for families (Lacey Spear / Hville Blast)

“Hottest Family Friendly Cities” – ranked #2 by moveBuddha.

This year Huntsville was critically acclaimed as the second best city in the nation for its family friendly atmosphere.

“[Huntsville’s] vibrant downtown, with its genteel Big Spring Park, eclectic Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment and an antebellum historic district is capped by views of majestic Monte Sano Mountain.”
moveBuddha

Economic growth

“Top cities in the US for income growth” – SmartAsset.
“Best performing large city” – Milken Institute

Economically, Huntsville has been doing great—not only performing well but also growing tremendously.

“Alabama’s most populous city had the nation’s second-largest jump (30.21%) in median household income from 2019 to 2021. Of the 10 places where income rose the most over that two-year stretch, Huntsville has the highest percentage (14.97%) of households earning $100,000 per year.”
Smartasset

Affordability

“Huntsville ranked 2nd most affordable city” – moveBuddha.

This one might be a bit controversial. Reportedly, even though the cost of living in Huntsville is one of the highest in the state, looking at other metro cities reveals the cost is comparably low.

“It seems like the space race is still landing tons of young families in this affordable, safe town. Rocket City is known for its aerospace industry, but it’s earning accolades for its low housing costs.”
moveBuddha.com

Thank the ratings

Teddy with the Huntsville Rocket—one of the iconic Huntsville settings — Huntsville is as family friendly as it is dog friendly. (Lacey Spear / Hville Blast)

Whether or not you think it’s a good thing that Huntsville ranks so well gaining much attention for different things, it’s exciting to look at how the city has grown even compared to what it was even 10 years ago. Both established and incoming residents have reason to celebrate.

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