Study: If you’re an engineer, north Alabama is the absolute best place for you to live

(Wikicommons)

Rocket Park in Huntsville (photo courtesy of the Marshall Space Flight Center)
Rocket Park in Huntsville (photo courtesy of the Marshall Space Flight Center)

If you’re an engineering student at one of Alabama’s fine universities, you won’t need to move far away to get your dream job.

According to personal finance and economics website NerdWallet, Huntsville is the best place in the nation for engineers, and nearby Decatur comes in pretty high too, at No. 8 on the list.

The website analyzed the largest 350 cities in the United States, looking at the size of their engineering industry, average cost of rent, and average engineering wages. NerdWallet gave each city a score out of 100.

NerdWallet named Huntsville, nicknamed The Rocket City for its role in sending a man to the moon, to the top of the list for its plethora of engineering jobs, high average wages for engineers, and low rent prices. The city received a score of 85, an astonishing 25 points higher than the #2 city.

No. 8 Decatur’s score was 53.

In Huntsville the average engineer can expect to make $102,766 annually and pay only $725 a month in rent. Engineers make up an incredible 6.1 percent of the workforce in Huntsville.

Decatur’s engineers still do very well, making up 2 percent of the workforce, earning an average of $96,229 a year, and paying only $589 a month in rent.

Check out NerdWallet’s infographic for details on the top ten cities for engineers below.

(If you can’t see the image below, check it out here)
Best Places for Engineers


Recent in Uncategorized

The Alabama Republican Party elected State Rep. Scott Stadthagen (R-Hartselle) as chairman Saturday following a three-way race that went to a runoff at the party’s 2026 Winter Meeting in Hoover. Stadthagen, former House Majority Leader John Merrill, and Joan Reynolds competed for the position, which opened following John Wahl’s recent resignation to run for Lt. […]

As February begins, many Alabamians start planning how to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The state offers a wide range of romantic destinations, and one Orange Beach restaurant has earned national recognition — Voyagers at Perdido Beach Resort has been named to OpenTable’s 2026 Top 100 Romantic Restaurants list. According to OpenTable, the annual list is compiled […]