Cost of living in Huntsville, AL: the official figures for a mover

A move to Huntsville has three official cost anchors: what homes sell for (ACRE), how Alabama assesses property tax (the Department of Revenue) and which sales tax rates apply. This post uses only those sources plus Census Bureau housing figures. It does not compare Huntsville with other cities, because a fair comparison needs the same method on both sides.

Everything below is general information. For your own numbers, ask the county tax office, the Department of Revenue or a tax professional. If you are working through a relocation, the Redstone Arsenal relocation guide covers the other steps.

Housing prices: what ACRE reports

The Alabama Center for Real Estate (ACRE) publishes monthly sales reports by area. These are area-wide figures. They describe sales across a whole market and say nothing about the value of any one home.

Area	Month	Median sales price	Closed transactions	Days on market
Huntsville area (Valley MLS)	July 2026	$349,000	759	43
Athens area (Limestone County)	July 2026	$319,000	254	53
Morgan County (Decatur)	June 2026	$260,031	163	50

ACRE’s Huntsville report also said the Huntsville area median rose 2.3% year over year in July 2026. New construction was 205 homes or 27.0% of sales, with a median of $342,580. The Morgan County report covers Morgan and Lawrence Counties and warns that small samples can cause pricing volatility.

ACRE reports by area. A price for Madison city alone or for Harvest, is not in its reports. Those communities sit inside the Huntsville area figure.

Home values from the Census Bureau

The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey publishes the median value of owner-occupied homes, as owners estimate it, for 2020 to 2024. These are survey estimates with a margin of error, not sale prices.

Place	Median value of owner-occupied units	Margin of error
Madison	$398,800	$12,889
Huntsville	$293,600	$8,403
Meridianville	$291,900	$12,338
Harvest	$281,300	$34,088
Athens	$270,000	$18,606
Decatur	$210,200	$8,614

Sale prices and survey values measure different things, so do not expect them to match. Read the Madison and Huntsville community guides for the housing facts of each place and see the Athens and Decatur guides if you are looking farther west.

Alabama property tax

The Alabama Department of Revenue assigns property to classes. Class III covers agricultural, forest and single-family owner-occupied residential property and is assessed at 10% of value. Class II is assessed at 20%.

A simple illustration, not a quote: if a county appraised a home at $300,000, a 10% assessment ratio gives an assessed value of $30,000. The tax then comes from the millage rates of the state, county, city and school taxing authorities that cover the address. This post does not state millage rates, because the county pages for them were not available for review. Ask the Madison County Tax Assessor and Tax Collector, the Limestone County Revenue Commissioner or the Morgan County Revenue Commissioner for the rates on an address.

Madison County and Limestone County each have their own offices and Madison city lies in both counties. The county that taxes a home depends on the address, which is one more reason to confirm it before you make an offer.

The homestead exemption

The Department of Revenue defines a homestead as “a single-family owner-occupied dwelling and the land thereto, not exceeding 160 acres.” An owner may be entitled to an exemption if the home is their primary residence on the first day of the tax year they apply for. The Department says to visit your local county office to apply.

For type H-1 (under 65 and not disabled) the Department lists “$4,000 assessed value state and $2,000 assessed value county.” Other types for those 65 and older, disabled or blind have different terms on the same page. The new resident checklist puts the filing in order with your other first steps.

Sales tax

The Department of Revenue lists these state sales tax rates: 4.000% general, 2.000% food and grocery and 2.000% automobile. Cities and counties add local rates. The Department’s local rate file shows these general sales tax rows for the area:

• Huntsville: 4.5%
• Madison city: 3.5%
• Athens: 3%
• Madison County county-wide: 0.5%
• Madison County excluding Huntsville: 1%
• Limestone County: 2%
• Decatur: 4%

This list does not add up to a combined rate. Which rows apply to an address is a question for the Department’s rate lookup, which also covers address-level rates. Rates can change and the Department updates its file monthly.

Income tax and military pay

The Department’s list of income exempt from Alabama income taxation includes military retirement pay, military allowances paid to active-duty members for quarters, subsistence, uniforms and travel and U.S. Government retirement fund benefits. Individual tax situations vary and the Department’s page is the place to confirm yours.

Planning your own numbers

Use official figures for the fixed parts of the budget and your own quotes for the rest. A short list to work from:

• The price range from a search of homes for sale, set against the ACRE area figure
• The county’s tax rates for the address you like
• The local sales tax rows for your city
• Utility start-up costs from the provider that serves the address
• Your move allowance or employer package, which your employer sets

You can search homes for sale on Valley MLS, then ask Melissa to walk through the figures for specific addresses. To get the full set of steps for a PCS or job move, request the relocation guide.