Huntsville ranks among top cities in the U.S. for income growth

Downtown Huntsville Big Spring Park. — Huntsville ranked no. 2 in a recent study for cities with the most income growth. (Jacob Blankenship / Hville Blast)

A recent study shows that Huntsville is among the top cities in the country when it comes to income growth. This study, conducted by financial wellness website SmartAsset, listed the Rocket City at no. 2 on its list.

Here’s how Huntsville landed among the best cities in the U.S. for income growth:

Significant income growth lands Huntsville in top 5

Downtown Huntsville streets. — The population is not the only aspect of Huntsville that has grown over the last two years. (Jacob Blankenship / Hville Blast)

Let’s see how Huntsville ended up among the top cities in the nation for income growth. Well, SmartAsset examined Census Bureau data for 124 of the largest cities in the country and ranked them by the size of income changes between 2019 and 2021.

To rank the cities, SmartAsset subtracted the 2019 median household income from 2021 median household income for each place. The cities were then ranked based on the percentage increase over the two-year period.

Here’s the top 10 cities for income growth according to the SmartAsset study:

San Bernardino, Calif.
Huntsville, Ala.
Moreno Valley, Calif.
Winston-Salem, N.C.
Toledo, Ohio
Fayetteville, N.C.
Indianapolis, Ind.
Stockton, Calif.
Fontana, Calif.
Fresno Calif.

To read the full report, check out the article on SmartAsset.

What the study says about Huntsville

Downtown Huntsville 1 — Huntsville’s income growth was more than 10 times the average city’s growth. (Nathan Watson/Hville Blast)

According to the study, Huntsville had the nation’s second-largest jump (30.21%) in median household income from 2019 to 2021.

Median-earning households that made $54,342 in 2019 were earning $70,757 two years later. Of the 10 cities where income rose the most over that two-year stretch, Huntsville has the highest percentage of households earning $100,000 per year (14.97%).

To put Huntsville’s income growth into perspective, median earnings across the U.S. rose just 3% over the two years used in the study, but Huntsville saw more than 10 times that income growth.

This lofty ranking is just another high ranking for Huntsville among a variety of studies and listings. Recently, the Rocket City ranked among the best cities for new home buyers, an accolade that added to its ranking by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best places to live in the U.S.

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