U.S. News has bestowed top status on the city of Huntsville. The outlet has placed the Rocket City among its three best places to live in America.
“Once a sleepy farming town, Huntsville gained national recognition during the Space Race of the 1960s and is now consistently among the fastest-growing metro areas in Alabama,” the publication wrote.
U.S. News analyzed 150 metro areas and applied a criteria based on quality of life and the job market in each metro area, as well as the value of living there and people’s desire to live there.
Tommy Battle, mayor of Huntsville, took to social media to offer his thoughts on the honor.
“I’m very proud that Huntsville has been named the third best place to live in all the United States by U.S. News and World Report,” he said. “My team and I are not going to rest until we move up two more spots.”
Ahead of Huntsville on the list are Boulder, Colorado, and the Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina.
U.S. News ranked Huntsville first nationally in the category “Cheapest Places to Live.”
It received an 8.1 out of 10 on its job market index, with an average annual salary of $55,980.
The publication identified the aerospace and defense industries as being the largest sectors of the area’s economy, a fact which will only be bolstered with the selection of Huntsville as headquarters for the U.S. Space Command.
Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth put the Yellowhammer State’s role in perspective during an interview last month.
“Alabama will be the aerospace capital of the country and the world,” he stated. “And when you’re looking at what’s going on with us going to Mars, with us going to the moon, what’s going on with us being able to protect our assets in space because look, another country takes out our satellite or a GPS and we’re in big trouble.”
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Tim Howe is an owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia
