Huntsville, Alabama
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Huntsville.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Huntsville compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 218,814City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $70,778Incorporated place (ACS)10% below U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 83ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)17% below U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $263,100City limits (ACS)13% below U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,078City limits (ACS)20% below U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 2.9%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 21 min16% below U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 2838% below U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- UnavailableFBI CDE gap
- Property crime rate
- UnavailableFBI CDE gap
- Summer high
- 91°F4.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 35°FNear U.S. avg (34°F)U.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 54.3 in65% above U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 2477% below U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Huntsville with another city
Relocators eyeing Huntsville, Alabama will find roughly 218,814 residents within city limits. Median household income is roughly $70,778, while the ACS housing-cost index sits near 83 — among the more affordable large markets in this catalog on housing costs (100 ≈ U.S. average). Budget for median rents around $1,078 a month before you lock a neighborhood.
Huntsville is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Huntsville with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Gulf Coast humidity and inland pine hills shape day-to-day living here. With about 54.3 inches of rain a year, wet-season drainage and mold checks are worth asking about. Plan on roughly 21 minutes each way for a typical commute; Walk Score is about 28. A recent county unemployment reading near 2.9% suggests a relatively tight local labor market. Official FBI agency crime rates were not published for this place in the latest pull, so treat safety as a neighborhood-level research task.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (Huntsville city, 1600000US0137000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN010890000000003 (Madison County, May 2026)
- Crime: data unavailable
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00003856 HUNTSVILLE INTL AP)
Last updated 2026-07-28