What is the cost of living in Huntsville?

Huntsville has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 93.1, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 77.9, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,310/month.

What is the median salary in Huntsville?

The median salary in Huntsville is $65,749 annually (mean: $68,948). Top occupations include Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Software Developers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Huntsville?

The violent crime rate in the Huntsville area is 376 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1622 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Huntsville?

The state of AL has 1,369 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.7:1. Charter schools make up 1.2% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Huntsville?

Infant center-based childcare in the Huntsville area averages $6,896 per year. Preschool averages $6,348/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Huntsville a good place to relocate?

Huntsville has a Life Score of 54.7/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Huntsville sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Huntsville ranks #147 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Huntsville, AL

LiveAbility 53.9/100 places Huntsville #147 of 387 (middle third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

93.1
Cost index (US=100): $1,310
2BR rent / mo: $65,749
Median salary: 53.9
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Huntsville ranks #147 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (53.9/100), with its strongest marks in climate and job market.

#147
of 387 US metros · Above median: 5,157,699
metro-area population: 376
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,369
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: schools (30/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Huntsville ranks #147 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 93.1 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,310/mo, median salary $65,749; LiveAbility Score 53.9/100, strongest in climate and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 53.9/100 places Huntsville #147 of 387 (middle third).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 93.1 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,310/mo.

LiveAbility 53.9/100 keeps Huntsville in the middle third (#147 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Huntsville area is 251,800.

Huntsville vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

54 Top 39% higher than 61% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Huntsville housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Huntsville MSA; housing RPP 77.9 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,310/mo.

Studio

$1,030

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,136

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,310

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,690

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,109

/month

Huntsville wages and employment

Huntsville posts 251,800 total employment with median salary $65,749.

Median Salary

$65,749

Mean Salary

$68,948

Total Employment

251,800

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators	$46,390
Software Developers	$128,080
Retail Salespersons	$33,120
Registered Nurses	$77,090
Stockers and Order Fillers	$34,620

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Huntsville area from NCES.

Schools

1,369

Enrollment

746,604

Student:Teacher

17.7:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Huntsville area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$6,896

per year

Toddler (Center)

$6,716

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,348

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Huntsville's composite Life Score is 54.7/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

54/100

Average

Wages

71/100

Strong

Rent

49/100

Average

Crime

40/100

Below average

Schools

70/100

Strong

Childcare

91/100

Elite

Environment

2/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Huntsville ranks #147 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 53.9/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (87/100)

Climate

87
Job market

71
Low hazard

60
Cost of living

54
Housing

49
Air quality

49
Safety

40
Schools

30

What this shows Huntsville's strongest dimensions are climate and job market; its weakest among scored dims is schools at 30/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Huntsville to

Kalamazoo-Portage Kankakee Kansas City Kennewick-Richland Kenosha Killeen-Temple

Metros near Huntsville on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Huntsville on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Huntsville cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Huntsville wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Huntsville?

Huntsville runs a $65,749 median salary at a 93.1 cost index, ranking #147 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Huntsville's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Huntsville head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Huntsville
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.