Birmingham slides in rental rankings as Huntsville shines

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Birmingham remains a decent place to find an apartment, but the city’s ranking is sliding, according to a recent survey.

Birmingham ranks 80th among the best cities in the nation for renters in 2025, according to

The RentCafe Blog.

That’s a slide down from 68th place last year.

While Birmingham made the overall list, it did not round out the top 50 of Southern cities. On the other hand, its Alabama rival Huntsville can boast being a regional leader ranking No. 5 on the Southern list of cities.

The Rocket City stands out in both cost of living, housing and its local economy, “making it an excellent option for renters, seeking a balance between affordability and career stability,”

according to RentCafe.

Here are the details for the Magic City:


  • Renters in Birmingham have more upscale apartments to choose from: In 2025, half of all units will boast high-end amenities, up 1.4% since last year.

  • Newly built units make up 12.8% of the housing stock, an increase of 1.5%. Also, the average apartment size here is 971 sq. ft., which is 4 sq. ft. larger than in 2024.

  • Birmingham has an unemployment rate of 6.10%. And though that is significantly above the current national average of 4.3%, in fact it dropped by 1.4% compared to last year.

  • Compared to the previous five-year estimate, the renter growth rate has decreased by 5.3 percentage points. It is currently 28.1%, a significant drop from last year’s estimated growth of 33.4%.

  • Birmingham experienced flat job growth, in contrast to 1.5% growth last year.

  • The cost of living in Birmingham remained low at 8.3% below average.

Rent Café

uses several sources to conduct its analysis, including information from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and other databases.

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Nathan Tapp

Passionate about making complex financial topics easy to understand, Nathan Tapp covers the latest in personal finance, economic trends, and money-saving strategies. With a sharp eye on markets and policies, He delivers clear, timely insights to help readers make smarter financial decisions every day.

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