All Forum Posts by: Steve Stinson

#4. Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville’s score: 83.30/100

Huntsville is the most populous city in Alabama, but its population is still under 225,000. It stands out as a small metropolis with an affordable housing market, good job opportunities, and easy access to nature.

With a median home price of about $259,817, Huntsville ranked 26th lowest in our analysis. On top of that are the low homeownership costs. Huntsville ranked the best in this metric at only 14.1% of the median household income.

However, the low property tax rate of just 0.41% of the median home value—the seventh lowest in the country—may seal the deal. This helps to make Huntsville one of the most affordable cities in the U.S. for owning a home.

Huntsville is also a safe place to live, coming in 10th for the lowest crime rate among the cities we evaluated.

Residents of the Rocket City also have access to the world-famous U.S. Space & Rocket Center museum, over 60 public parks and the Von Braun Center entertainment complex, making it a fun and lively spot to raise

Read Full Story - HERE

Welcome @David Craig and thanks for the mention @River Sava. David reach out if I can help in any way.

Welcome @Kim Atkins and thanks for the shout-out @River Sava !

Thanks for the shout-out @River Sava.

Do you require owning a primary residence to qualify?

Kate SamuelsonUpdated 27 June 2017

Jeff Bezos‘ space company Blue Origin will hire up to 342 new jobs to Huntsville, Ala., for a new state-of-the art production facility that will be built there.

Governor Kay Ivey announced Monday that Blue Origin plans to manufacture its BE-4 engine--which will power United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket as well as Blue Origin's New Glenn reusable launch system--in a new facility in Cummings Research Park, which is located primarily in Huntsville a.k.a. Rocket City. The space company is expected to make around $200 million in capital investment in the state.

Construction of the new building will begin once a contract with United Launch Alliance has been finalized and the City and County governments give their final public approval, Gov. Ivey said during his speech at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration in Huntsville.

"Alabama is a great state for aerospace manufacturing and we are proud to produce America's next rocket engine right here in Rocket City," Robert Meyerson, President of Blue Origin, said in a statement. "The area's skilled workforce and leading role in rocket propulsion development make Huntsville the ideal location for our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.”

“I must commend founder Jeff Bezos and company President Robert Meyerson for their vision to create this innovative company, and for choosing to make Alabama its home sweet home,” said Gov. Ivey. “Because of this investment, more Alabamians can provide a better living for their families, and it helps cement Alabama as the preferred destination for the aerospace industry."

See original article on Fortune.com

Updated on August 15, 2023Written by Patrick Villanova, CEPF®Edited by Jaclyn DeJohnFact Checked by Arturo Conde, CEPF®SHARE

In general, median earnings across the U.S. rose just 3% over two years, but some cities saw up to 10 times that income growth. While such disparities can be due to a variety of causes, residents in these cities had economic tailwinds to help them through recent cost of living increases.

To see where income increased most, SmartAsset examined Census Bureau data for 124 of the largest cities in the country and ranked them by the size of income changes between 2019 and 2021.

Read FULL STORY here.

The South’s Best Cities On The Rise 2024

By Southern Living Editors

Updated on March 6, 2024

LISA CORSON

According to the U.S. Census, the South is the place to be. Not only is it the most populous region in the country, it accounted for 87% of our country’s growth in 2023. Plus, the South is the only region that maintained population growth during the pandemic. Visit any of the places on this year's Best Cities On the Rise list and you’ll quickly understand why.

These reader-selected cities have excellent food scenes, cool yet quaint downtown districts, incredible natural beauty, thriving arts communities, and the warmth our region is known for. And they’re not done growing. Each one has exciting new projects on the horizon, like a minor-league baseball stadium in Spartanburg, South Carolina, entertainment districts in Huntsville, Alabama and Alpharetta, Georgia, and even economic development, like electric vehicle manufacturing in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

FULL STORY

Published on February 27, 2024

Huntsville’s residential building boom appears to be catching its breath after years of construction at a furious pace. However, with continued growth in population and new jobs, forecasts indicate that 2024 will still be higher than the 10-year average for residential construction, a study from the City’s reveals.

The showed the city’s population is continuing to grow even as the real estate market for single-family homes moderates. Data for this report was obtained from City records and the Valley Multiple Listing Service.

“The 2023 Development Review data is a good indicator of Huntsville’s economy. Residential and commercial sectors remain strong and well above our 10-year averages,” said Shane Davis, the City’s Director of Urban and Economic Development. “The data confirms our strategy of managing growth while maintaining a good quality of life.”

Read FULL Story HERE

By Candace Carlisle
CoStar News

August 7, 2023 | 4:27 P.M.

Huntsville, Alabama, tops a list of lesser-known and underdeveloped U.S. and Canadian markets that the world's largest real estate brokerage is betting has the strongest growth potential for technology companies.

The 25 smaller tech markets have talent pools for employers that might be looking to expand their geographical reach, according to CBRE's annual "Scoring Tech Talent" report.

Read FULL STORE here.