Economic Development Highlights

To determine the most favorable housing markets for first-time homebuyers, WalletHub compared 300 cities of varying sizes across 22 key indicators of market attractiveness, affordability, and quality of life. Huntsville ranked #5 overall and #2 among midsize cities.

WalletHub’s report on 2025’s Best & Worst Places to Rent in America placed Huntsville in the top 10 Best Places to Rent. WalletHub compared over 180 U.S. cities based on 21 rental attractiveness and quality of life indicators to help renters get the best value.

WalletHub compared the 150 largest metropolitan statistical areas across 11 key metrics, with data sets ranging from the share of adults aged 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher to the quality of the public school system.

Rounding out the top five, Huntsville, AL, stands out with strong rankings in both cost of living and housing (#5) and local economy (#9), making it an excellent option for renters, seeking a balance between affordability and career stability.

According to Coworking Café, Huntsville earns this high spot due to number of STEM establishments, density and growth of STEM jobs, and annual average wage for these types of jobs.

Huntsville moves up a spot this year to land at #4! Specifically, it posted the fastest Millennial population growth in the top 20, rising 17.8% between 2019 and 2023. Although the overall share is still smaller than it is in larger metros, the pace of change signals a shift — and a growing appeal to younger workers looking for practical options.

Huntsville landed the #12 spot in the 2025 PODS Moving Trends Report of top cities where people are moving. The report, based on long-distance moves between January 2024 and March 2025, highlights ongoing migration to Southeastern cities.

Huntsville ranked #9 among top 20 most talent-dense innovation hubs across the South, ranked by 15 metrics that look at the employment, business environment and education.

(MONTGOMERY) – Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday recognized five outstanding Alabama companies for their international […]

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – April 14, 2025 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has opened a […]

Huntsville has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2025, earning a spot in the Economic Development category. Huntsville has made music a key focus of economic growth, starting with a 2018 city musical audit championed by Mayor Tommy Battle, that quickly grew into a larger effort to build a creative ecosystem.

In CBRE Research’s annual Scoring Tech Talent report, Huntsville is listed as the top market for tech talent. The rankings were recently published by Site Selection.