Metro Life Score
Huntsville, AL
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B, 66th percentile of the national corpus.
- 53.7
- Life Score / 100
- B
- Grade (curved)
- #130
- of 387 metros
- 66%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Huntsville is above-median composite Life Score — #130 of 387 (53.7/100, grade B, 66th percentile). Carried by childcare at 91/100; held back most by environment at 2/100.
- 66th
- composite percentile
- #130
- of 387 peers
- 53rd
- cost dimension percentile
- 59th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature composite
Huntsville: mid-curve composite with a readable shape
Huntsville is a mid-curve UPPER · BALANCED metro (composite #130, 53.7/100, 66th percentile). Cost MID (53rd) · wages MID (59th). Strongest childcare 91/100; weakest environment 2/100; dimension gap 89. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Huntsville, AL ranks #130 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #180 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 93.1 (rent-RPP 77.9). BLS median salary $65,749, 251,800 jobs (Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Software Developers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,310/mo (studio $1,030).
FBI UCR (AL): 376 violent, 1622 property/100K. NCES: 17.2:1 ratio, 1.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,896/yr. EPA: 16 Superfund sites (AL).
Where Huntsville sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
54 66th percentile higher than 66% of 387 US metros
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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 53.7 is built
Huntsville's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Huntsville scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are AL state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Huntsville With...
Ranking Context
Huntsville outranks 66% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #127 | Wichita Falls, TX | 53.8 | B |
| #128 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 53.9 | B |
| #129 | Terre Haute, IN | 53.9 | B |
| #130 | Huntsville, AL | 53.7 | B |
| #131 | Valdosta, GA | 53.7 | B |
| #132 | Green Bay, WI | 53.4 | B |
| #133 | Killeen-Temple, TX | 53.4 | B |
Quality vs. Affordability
Huntsville, AL's quality rank (top 34% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 47% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
AL Metro Scores
Read with Huntsville
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Huntsville (UPPER · BALANCED · MID/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Valdosta, GA
ABS(composite) peer at 53.7 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Wichita Falls, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 53.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Terre Haute, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 53.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC
ABS(composite) peer at 53.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Flint, MI (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 54/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 53/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Huntsville, AL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · MID/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Huntsville's middle-third Life Score
Huntsville scores 53.7/100 overall, but Childcare (90.9) and Environment (2.1) sit 88.8 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Huntsville's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Environment is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Decatur is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Decatur
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.