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Place dossier plate
SheetAL-HUNTSVILLE-AL · Huntsville, AL 218,814 pop · income 51st pct · 95 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Huntsville
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Huntsville on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Birmingham · lowest
44,376
Birmingham · lowest
44,376 median HH income
41.2% of the leader · rank #1
Huntsville · this city
70,778
Huntsville · this city
70,778 median HH income
65.6% of the leader · rank #2
New Cordell · near
70,780
New Cordell · near
70,780 median HH income
65.6% of the leader · rank #3
Jefferson · near
70,781
Jefferson · near
70,781 median HH income
65.6% of the leader · rank #4
Baltic · near
70,781
Baltic · near
70,781 median HH income
65.6% of the leader · rank #5
Sharonville · near
70,781
Sharonville · near
70,781 median HH income
65.6% of the leader · rank #6
Hoover · highest
107,822
Hoover · highest
107,822 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Huntsville on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 218,814.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Huntsville - the verdict
Nationally, Huntsville sits in the 51st percentile for household income and the 17th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
51st
percentile, household income
58th
percentile, home value
1st
percentile, median rent
17th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Huntsville, AL
218,814 people live in Huntsville, Alabama - a mid-sized U.S. city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Huntsville report a median income of $70,778 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 10.2%. Home values in Huntsville run a median of $263,100, and the median resident age is 36.4 years. 46.2% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 60.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 1,485 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Slowing), down 7% from five years earlier. Huntsville's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 2871.5 crimes per 100,000 residents, above the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 62.9°F with 54.3 inches of precipitation per year and 2.4 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Alabama run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Alabama at 88.8 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $936 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Alabama's average monthly utility costs around $245 (state average). The average commute for Huntsville workers runs 16.7 minutes, with 77.5% driving alone and 13.1% working from home. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 61.5 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Huntsville's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from climate and hazard context to population change to work and mobility to reported crime to within-city variation to housing and income to comparison shortlist to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Huntsville, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What physical conditions frame life in Huntsville?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 62.9°F, with 54.3 inches of precipitation and 2.4 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Alabama is 61.5 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Is Huntsville growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +17,335 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +8.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1,485 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What can 95 Census tracts reveal inside Huntsville?
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 95 Census tracts to this city.
Which cities make useful reference points for Huntsville?
Within Alabama, the closest population matches are Birmingham (199,322 residents, $44,376 income); Montgomery (198,440 residents, $55,687 income); Mobile (185,097 residents, $51,090 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Modesto, CA (218,614 residents); Spring Valley, NV (219,913 residents); Port St. Lucie, FL (220,453 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Huntsville?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.5%. The reported mean trip to work is 16.7 minutes.
Public transit
0.3%
Work from home
13.1%
Drive alone
77.5%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 107,809 workers age 16+.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Huntsville?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2871.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 26% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
2388.3
Violent rate
483.2
Total reported rate
2871.5
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
How far does income reach against housing in Huntsville?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 10.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
Household income
$70,778
Home value
$263,100
Value / income
3.7×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the education layer cover for Huntsville?
The NCES join finds 47 public schools within the city match. 46.2% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
47
Bachelor's degree+
46.2%
Poverty estimate
10.2%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Above median income · poverty 10.2% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.8 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Alabama average
C-
City profile score · Huntsville, AL
54/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A+
88.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share A-
46.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income C-
$70,778
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
10.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
483 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Huntsville profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 90/100 (A+) · 88.8 index
Bachelor's+ share: 80/100 (A-) · 46.2%
Household income: 50/100 (C-) · $70,778
Poverty rate: 39/100 (F) · 10.2%
Violent crime: 17/100 (F) · 483 /100k
Where Huntsville sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Huntsville's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Huntsville highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Huntsville, AL (this city): home $263,100, crime 2,872/100k
Modesto, CA : home $415,600, crime 3,071/100k
Tacoma, WA : home $454,600, crime 6,667/100k
San Bernardino, CA : home $384,900, crime 3,795/100k
Birmingham, AL : home $138,600, crime 5,278/100k
Montgomery, AL : home $148,500, crime 2,830/100k
Mobile, AL : home $170,300, crime 2,427/100k
Tuscaloosa, AL : home $236,600, crime 3,285/100k
Hoover, AL : home $391,300, crime 1,335/100k
Auburn, AL : home $342,400, crime 1,087/100k
How does Huntsville compare to other US cities?
Where Huntsville sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income51% higher than other cities
Home value58% pricier than other cities
Median rent1% pricier than other cities
Safety17% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Alabama, Huntsville ranks #159 of 222 Alabama cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Huntsville against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Alabama only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Alabama-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Huntsville near the bottom of Alabama's cities
Among the 556 Alabama cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Huntsville ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Huntsville only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#125 of 530
76th percentile in Alabama
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 556
0th percentile in Alabama
Median Home Value
#43 of 517
92nd percentile in Alabama
Poverty Rate
#317 of 556
43rd percentile in Alabama
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#26 of 556
95th percentile in Alabama
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Alabama only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
51st percentile nationally for median household income · 17th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Huntsville's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Huntsville's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Huntsville's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$263,10042nd percentilemore affordable than 42% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Huntsville's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#9,779 of 15,516
More affordable than 37% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#36 of 117
Large cities (200,000–999,999)
At 3.7×, Huntsville sits in the moderate band:
national rank #9,779 of 15,516 and #36 of 117large cities (200,000–999,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$70,778Huntsville, AL median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Huntsville, AL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Huntsville, AL.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)46.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)10.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
218,814
Median Income
$70,778
Median Home Value
$263,100
Median Age
36.4
Poverty Rate
10.2%
Labor force participation
60.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
46.2%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2871.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
483.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2388.3
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
62.9°F
Annual Precipitation
54.3"
Annual Snowfall
2.4"
Schools
Total Schools
47
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Huntsville's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
216,292 residents
2021
218,727 residents
2022
222,237 residents
2023
226,024 residents
2024
230,347 residents
2025
233,627 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Slowing
Total Permits (2024)
1,485
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1,245
detached homes
Multifamily
240
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
6.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1,603
1,436
167
$84.6M
2020
1,789
1,705
84
$134.7M
2021
2,811
1,483
1,328
$272.2M
2022
1,130
1,083
47
$78.5M
2023
2,600
1,403
1,197
$393.9M
2024
1,485
1,245
240
$280.6M
Permit volume decreased 7% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
16.7 minutes
Drive Alone
77.5%
Carpool
6.8%
Public Transit
0.3%
Walk
1.3%
Work from Home
13.1%
Other
1.0%
Based on 107,809 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Alabama statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $245
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Alabama at $245 (electricity about $138 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Alabama statewide averages, not a meter reading for Huntsville. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Alabama's BEA cost-of-living index is 88.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Huntsville is $936/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Alabama statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 61.5 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Alabama statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Huntsville sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Huntsville compares to similar-size Alabama cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.