Best PlacesHuntsville, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Huntsville, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Huntsville ranks 44,457th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 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.
Huntsville's strengths and weaknesses
Where Huntsville ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 83% of towns
- Cheap childcare$581 a month, better than 80% of towns
Where Huntsville ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 3% of towns
- Household income$40,877 median, better than only 3% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 6% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Huntsville
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Huntsville home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $40,877, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Huntsville's effective rate of 0.35%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 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 Huntsville.
Who works in Huntsville, and how
Work in Huntsville centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Huntsville
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Huntsville.
What the weather is like in Huntsville, month by month
Huntsville sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 37° | 29° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 68° |
| October | 72° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Huntsville
The nearest airport, McGhee Tyson, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 126 miles away.
The best schools in and around Huntsville
Schools across Huntsville average a C−, better than 20% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Steekee ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Huntsville ElementaryC · 35% proficient
- Fairview ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Huntsville Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Oliver Springs High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Loudon High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Campbell County Comprehensive High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Huntsville school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
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 Huntsville against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Huntsville
Is Huntsville a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Huntsville ranks 44,457th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, low property taxes, and low taxes, and lowest on health outcomes and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Huntsville expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $146,758. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $40,877 median income, cost of living beats 6% of towns.
Is Huntsville safe?
Huntsville is safer than 22% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $571 per resident a year.
Compare Huntsville with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Huntsville. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 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.
Huntsville detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Huntsville: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Huntsville: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Huntsville: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Huntsville: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
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.