AreaProfile

35803Huntsville, Alabama

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 35803.

77
Area Score
Top 5% of 695 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 5% of 727 published ZIP areas80
GrowthTop 1% of 701 published ZIP areas84
Housing affordabilityTop 3% of 800 published ZIP areas100
Climate435th of 779 published ZIP areas68
Physical resilience442nd of 800 published ZIP areas50
Access559th of 779 published ZIP areas93
Economic stabilityTop 27% of 800 published ZIP areas69
The quick read

35803 ranks in the top 5% of published ZIP profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.5% and median household income of $100,846.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 2,108 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 87% on the prior year.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles, with rent taking 16% of median household income.

At a glance

Population
29,197
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$100,846
Top 19% nationally
Density
593/sq mi
49.2 sq mi of land
Median age
44.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Huntsville
Alabama
Metro area
Huntsville, AL
Nearest major airport
HSV
15 mi · Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones Fld
Median home value
$294,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.5% is lower than 95% of the 1,061 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment fell 1.2% over the past year, to 119,091 employed residents.

56% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 91% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$5,892$100,846Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,854$56,110Top 13%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate6.1%Bottom 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute23.5 minBottom 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher55.6%Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment119,091Bottom 21%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)3.9%Top 7%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.2%Bottom 41%June 2026
Labor force123,369Bottom 21%June 2026
Labor force participation63.3%Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$71,090Top 29%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$51,740Top 33%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.8%Top 15%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.5%Bottom 5%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
2021202220232024101k85k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $100,846 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Huntsville, AL
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators7,570$46,390
Software Developers7,030$128,080
Retail Salespersons7,030$33,120
Registered Nurses6,800$77,090
Stockers and Order Fillers5,330$34,620
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,030$27,180

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Huntsville, AL, the city containing this ZIP code.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,309 takes 16% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.9 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
15.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.9×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,309
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$294,200
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income2.92Bottom 44%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate83.4%Top 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±64113,429Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$113$1,309Top 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,410$294,200Top 34%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income15.6%Bottom 34%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate5.7%Bottom 26%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
84/ 100
Top 1% of 701 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

At 9.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas.

Units permitted
2,108
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.6
Top 8% nationally
Year over year
+87%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
42.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Huntsville, AL, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 33°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 54.3 inches, including 2.4 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station HUNTSVILLE INTL AP, 16.2 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation54.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall2.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low33°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing39°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

50 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and earthquake.

TornadoElevated
LightningModerate
Inland floodingElevated
EarthquakeElevated

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, cold wave, winter weather, heat wave, ice storm, hurricane, drought, hail, wildfire, landslide.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 15 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones FldHSV15 mi10,001 ft
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth IntlBHM70 mi12,007 ft
SmyrnaMQY100 mi8,038 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
77
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

35803 vs Huntsville

How this ZIP area compares with Huntsville as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

35803
Huntsville
Median household income
$100,846
vs
$74,714
Per capita income
$56,110
vs
$46,854
Population density
593/sq mi
vs
989/sq mi
Median home value
$294,200
vs
$293,600
Median gross rent
$1,309
vs
$1,171
Homeownership rate
83.4%
vs
58.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher
55.6%
vs
47.2%
Poverty rate
6.1%
vs
12.6%
Median age
44.6
vs
36.9

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.