Best PlacesDowntown Huntsville, Huntsville, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville ranks 2,459th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$639 a month, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Short commute17.2 minutes each way, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 22% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville
A household needs to earn about $182,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $90,969, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville's effective rate of 0.36%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville
Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville.
Who works in Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville, and how
Work in Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville
Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 92% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville, month by month
Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 43° | 35° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 51° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 76° | 64° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville
The nearest airport, Huntsville International-Carl T Jones Field, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 97 miles away.
The best schools in and around Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville
Schools across Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville average a B−, better than 58% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Blossomwood Elementary SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Morris Elementary SchoolD− · 15% proficient
- Sonnie Hereford Elementary SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Huntsville Junior High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Claychalkville Middle SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Huntsville High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Columbia High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Lee High SchoolF · 9% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville
Is Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville ranks 2,459th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cell coverage, low property taxes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on noise and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $740,540. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $90,969 median income, cost of living beats 79% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville safe?
Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville is safer than 28% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $585 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Huntsville, Huntsville detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.