Huntsville, AL Homes For Rent

Homes for Rent in Huntsville, AL: What You Need to Know

Huntsville in northern Alabama is called the Rocket City because it’s where the rockets that carried Americans into space and to the moon were developed. It’s also home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

Local Job Opportunities

The U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center are major economic drivers in Huntsville. Redstone Arsenal, the center for the Army’s rocket programs, has 14,601 employees. Marshall Space Flight Center, which is located at the Redstone Arsenal, employs 2,555 people. Cummings Research Park, America’s second-largest research park, is another key player in the local economy. There are more than 300 companies (with over 26,000 employees) in the park, including HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Lockheed Martin Corp., Teledyne Brown Engineering, 4M Research Inc., and AAR Aerostructures & Interiors.

Things to Do in Huntsville

In the 1950s, Dr. Wernher von Braun and his team developed the Jupiter C and Saturn V rockets for space missions. Today you can learn about their pioneering work at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, the world’s largest space museum. Its permanent collection includes the first American satellite, Explorer I, and the original capsule trainers for the Mercury and Gemini programs. 

Head over to the Huntsville Botanical Garden for a change of pace. The 112-acre garden contains diverse ecosystems, including woodland paths, floral collection, aquatic habitats, and the largest open-air butterfly house in America.

The Cost of Living in Huntsville

Huntsville is an affordable midsize city (population: 200,574) with a cost of living that’s 3.5% lower than the national average. Food and housing costs are 8.8% and 16.5% lower than the national average respectively. Huntsville’s median gross rent is $804 while the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $858. In Alabama, you’ll pay 2% to 5% in income tax and from 4% to 11.50% in sales tax.

Know Your Neighborhoods

Downtown offers a wide array of housing options to rent, from apartments in historic buildings to single-family bungalows to upscale lofts. As a whole, Huntsville gets kudos for its affordability, safety, and good schools. If you want to live outside the city, Madison and Harvest are less than 15 miles away from Huntsville, and both have excellent schools. Madison attracts professionals and retirees alike for its great amenities. Harvest is a quiet and rustic suburb.

Schools and Higher Education

The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is the largest of the four universities in the city. There are seven other four-year colleges within 50 miles of the city. UAH, located in the Cummings Research Park, has 9,736 students. Biotechnology is one of its key thrusts for future research. The Huntsville City School District has 39 public schools serving 23,989 students.