.95.20.jpeg)
Huntsville 2nd Best Place to Live 2023-2024
The U.S. News & World Report’s ‘Best Places to Live in the U.S. 2023-2024’ rankings are back out. Huntsville is number two this year after being ranked first last year, with Green Bay, Wisconsin coming in at number one spot. Before you decide to make the move and jump on our website to get your instant cash offer or home valuation report, let's break down the comparison of the two cities in three key areas; sports, cost of living, and things to do in the area.
Sports | Huntsville vs. Green Bay
Green Bay obviously has a huge edge with having an NFL team with the Green Bay Packers. They also have a local hockey team, the Green Bay Gamblers hockey team, as well as local college athletics. Now, compare that to Huntsville where we have a little bit more to offer in terms of variety of sports. We have the minor league baseball team the Rocket City Trash Pandas, we have a new soccer team in the Huntsville City Football Club, and then there’s the Huntsville Havoc for hockey. We also have Alabama A&M and UAH for local college athletics.
We do have a little bit more diversity in Huntsville, but NFL is definitely going to trump Huntsville in terms of athletics so the vote definitely goes to Green Bay for sports.
Outdoors | Huntsville vs. Green Bay
Let's jump into the outdoors comparing Huntsville versus Green Bay. Green Bay has some great trails for walking, running, biking, and of course, it is freezing cold there most of the year so they also have skiing as well. If you're into cold weather, Green Bay is a great option for you. The Fox River is a great place for boating, kayaking, and cruising.
In Huntsville, we have obviously warmer weather which allows us to get out and enjoy more activities. We have plenty of trails to walk, run, and bike all throughout the year due to the warmer weather. There are also great lake opportunities with beautiful Smith Lake and Lake Guntersville, both just a short drive away from Huntsville. Another big advantage to is we have other great opportunities within our driving distance to explore other great outdoor activities with the Smoky Mountains being over 4 hours away and pristine beaches just 5 hours away with Gulf Shores and the beautiful 30A area.
Obviously, warm weather is going to trump that cold, frigid weather in Green Bay. Huntsville gets the vote for outdoor activities.
Cost of Living | Huntsville vs. Green Bay
We've got a 1 to 1 tie with Green Bay's winning sports and Huntsville winning outdoor activities. Let's now look at the cost of living to see how far your dollar spreads in these two cities.
The first thing we want to look at is the median sales price of housing in Green Bay is actually less than it is in Huntsville. On paper, you might give that edge to Green Bay which has $247,000 for the median home price versus about $304,000 here in the Huntsville area. On the surface, you might say Green Bay but what really evens these two out is property taxes. Property taxes in the north and specifically in the Green Bay, Wisconsin area are much, much higher than they are here in the Huntsville, Alabama area. So those two overall costs of housing prices average out.
The next thing we’ll look at is your average salary. The median salary in Green Bay is about $51,500 but this is one of the areas that U.S. News and World Report actually got wrong for the Huntsville area because the average salary in Huntsville just skyrocketed by $10,000. We are now up to almost $77,000, a 50% increase over the Green Bay area. Plus, you're more likely to be employed in Huntsville with unemployment running a little bit higher in Green Bay at 6.2% versus only 4.7% in the Huntsville area.
The tie-breaker definitely goes to Huntsville for the cost of living for a 2 to 1 final score. If you factor in the higher income that Huntsville now has, that $10,000 increase in terms of average salary, U.S. News and World Report might have actually ranked Huntsville number one. However, they probably also just wanted to spice up the article and mix it up and give another city the spotlight this year.
In my book, Huntsville is definitely number one unless you just enjoy cold weather or you're just a die-hard cheesehead. Huntsville is definitely the place to be.
Posted by Matt Curtis on
Send Us A Message