Colorado Springs vs Huntsville: what actually changes
Huntsville is cheaper. That part is not in dispute. What is worth understanding before you commit is by how much, which parts of the budget actually move, and the handful of things that get genuinely worse. This is the comparison with the sources attached and the downsides left in.
The two cities, side by side
Start with the census figures rather than the marketing. These are 2024 American Community Survey numbers, the same source for both cities, which makes them directly comparable in a way that most relocation content is not.
| Huntsville, AL | Colorado Springs, CO | |
|---|---|---|
| Median property value | $293,600 | $452,600 |
| Median household income | $74,714 | $84,818 |
| Property value to income ratio | 3.93x | 5.34x |
| Average commute | 19.7 min | 22.7 min |
| Population | 222,791 | 487,887 |
| Median age | 36.9 | 35.7 |
Huntsville households earn about 12% less — that is real and you should plan for it. But housing costs 35% less, so the median house consumes 3.93 years of median income here against 5.34 in Colorado Springs. That gap is the entire relocation argument in one number. You are not just paying less; you are paying less relative to what you earn, by a wide margin.
Cost of living: the honest version
Two respected indexes disagree about how much cheaper Huntsville is, and the honest answer is a range rather than a number.
| Source | Finding |
|---|---|
| Expatistan (September 2026) | Huntsville is 16% cheaper overall. Housing 25% cheaper, transportation 26% cheaper, food 6% cheaper, clothing 14% cheaper, entertainment 10% cheaper — and personal care 11% more expensive. |
| Salary.com | Huntsville is 10.8% less expensive. Employers here pay roughly 2.9% less than Colorado Springs employers, and the net effect still increases disposable income by about $4,724. |
The two agree on the shape even where they differ on the size: housing and transportation carry almost all of the savings, food and everyday goods barely move, and a few service categories actually cost more. If your budget is housing-heavy, you land at the top of that range. If you rent modestly and spend on services, you land at the bottom.
Pay runs about 3% lower here on average, and if you are federal, your GS locality adjustment changes when you move. Run your own number: take your actual offer or your adjusted federal salary, subtract your real housing cost at Huntsville prices, and compare that to what is left over today. The index is a starting point, not your household.
What your equity actually does
The average Colorado Springs home is worth $448,511, down 1.6% over the past year, as of Zillow's July 31, 2026 figure. Across the fourteen Huntsville-area ZIP codes we track, 2,023 homes are actively for sale at a median list price of $359,900 and a median $167 per square foot.
Which means 1,376 of those 2,023 listings — 68% of the entire market — sit at or below what the average Colorado Springs house is worth. You arrive shopping most of the inventory rather than the bottom of it.
| Area | ZIP | For sale | Median list | $/sq ft | Sq ft for $448,511 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Huntsville | 35816 | 37 | $187,000 | $131 | 3,420 |
| West Huntsville | 35805 | 75 | $229,900 | $146 | 3,070 |
| North Huntsville | 35810 | 172 | $257,000 | $149 | 3,010 |
| Harvest | 35749 | 283 | $330,000 | $157 | 2,860 |
| Toney | 35773 | 144 | $314,900 | $163 | 2,750 |
| Jones Valley | 35802 | 100 | $399,900 | $166 | 2,700 |
| Northeast Huntsville | 35811 | 264 | $369,900 | $169 | 2,650 |
| Providence / Research Park | 35806 | 141 | $389,900 | $171 | 2,620 |
| South Huntsville / Hays Farm | 35803 | 170 | $400,000 | $173 | 2,590 |
| North Madison / Clift Farm | 35757 | 112 | $395,000 | $175 | 2,560 |
| Owens Cross Roads / Hampton Cove | 35763 | 140 | $424,900 | $177 | 2,530 |
| Madison city | 35758 | 215 | $439,900 | $186 | 2,410 |
| Downtown, Twickenham, Five Points | 35801 | 112 | $599,900 | $241 | 1,860 |
Notice the spread: $131 to $241 per square foot depending on which part of the metro you point at. The same money buys nearly twice the house at one end of that range as the other. Choosing the right area is worth far more than negotiating hard on any single property, and it is the decision most relocating buyers make fastest and with the least information.
Taxes: better in the places that compound
| Colorado | Alabama | |
|---|---|---|
| Individual income tax | 4.40% flat | 2.00%–5.00% graduated |
| Effective property tax on owner-occupied housing | 0.50% | 0.37% |
| Average combined state and local sales tax | 7.89% | 9.46% |
| Military retirement pay | Taxable, limited deductions | Not taxed |
| Federal civil service pensions | Taxable, limited deductions | Exempt |
| Social Security | Taxed, with deductions | Not taxed |
Applied to the two median homes, the property tax difference is concrete: roughly $2,263 a year on the median Colorado Springs house against about $1,086 on the median Huntsville house. Call it $1,177 a year, every year, on top of the purchase price gap.
Alabama taxes neither military retirement, nor federal civil service pensions, nor Social Security. If you are a GS employee or a retiring servicemember, that is not a moving perk — it is a permanent change to your retirement income. Over a full retirement it is worth considerably more than the sales tax difference costs you.
And Alabama's sales tax genuinely is higher: 9.46% on average against 7.89%. On a household spending $40,000 a year on taxable goods, that is about $630 more per year. It is a real cost, it is just a smaller one.
The weather trade, stated plainly
This is the category where Colorado Springs wins and no amount of housing math changes it. If you love the climate you have, you will not love the one you are getting.
| Huntsville | Colorado Springs | U.S. average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 55 in | 18 in | 38 in |
| Annual snowfall | 1.6 in | 57 in | 28 in |
| Sunny days per year | 199 | 243 | 205 |
| July average high | 90.1°F | 84.2°F | 85.8°F |
| January average low | 29.6°F | ~17°F | 21.7°F |
| Elevation | Under 1,000 ft | 6,010 ft | — |
Read that table honestly and the trade is clear. You gain a mild winter — under two inches of snow a year against fifty-seven, and January lows twelve degrees warmer. You lose the dry air, forty-four extra sunny days, and a July that stays under 85. Huntsville summers are humid from June through September in a way that Colorado does not prepare you for, and the shoulder seasons are the genuinely lovely part of the year here.
North Alabama sits in an active severe-weather corridor, and spring storm season is something Colorado transplants take seriously only after their first one. Practically, that means checking a property's flood history and knowing where you would shelter — the same way you would check a Colorado property for wildfire exposure. It is a different risk, not an unmanageable one, and local buyers price it in rather than avoiding whole areas because of it.
What is genuinely worse here
I would rather you hear this from me now than discover it in month three.
- The outdoors are not comparable. Monte Sano and the Land Trust trails are good, and the Tennessee River is real. None of it is Pikes Peak, and there is no substitute for having fourteeners in your backyard. If your weekends are built around alpine terrain, this is a genuine loss.
- Fewer nonstop flights. Huntsville International is easy to use and rarely crowded, but the nonstop map is smaller. Some trips will route through Atlanta, Charlotte or Dallas that used to be direct. Nashville is about two hours by car when you need a bigger airport.
- Sales tax on everything. Alabama's 9.46% average applies to groceries in most jurisdictions, which is not how every state does it. It is a small, constant friction that shows up in every receipt.
- Pay runs slightly lower. About 3% on average, and federal locality pay adjusts downward. The math still works, but it works because of housing, not because of income.
- Public transit is minimal. This is a two-car metro. If your household currently manages with one vehicle, plan for that to change.
The commute. Huntsville averages 19.7 minutes against Colorado Springs' 22.7. Three minutes each way sounds trivial until you annualize it — roughly 25 hours a year back for a five-day commuter. In a metro that people assume is small and inconvenient, the daily logistics are meaningfully easier than what you are leaving.
Who this move works for
It works cleanly if your household is housing-heavy — you want more square footage, a newer build, or a yard, and you are currently paying Colorado prices for less of all three. It works especially well if you are a federal employee or servicemember with a pension in your future, because the Alabama retirement exemption compounds for decades after the move itself is forgotten.
It works less well if you are a light spender in a modest house who mainly buys services and experiences. Those categories barely move, one of them costs more, and you would be trading a climate you like for savings you will not particularly feel.
If you are relocating with U.S. Space Command specifically, the timing question matters as much as the money question — which wave your function sits in determines whether you should buy on arrival or rent first. That is covered in detail on our Space Command relocation page.
Frequently asked questions
How much cheaper is Huntsville than Colorado Springs?
Between 11% and 16% overall, depending on the index. Salary.com puts it at 10.8%; Expatistan puts it at 16%. Both agree that housing and transportation carry nearly all of the savings — housing is roughly 25% cheaper and transportation 26% cheaper — while food and everyday goods barely move and some personal services cost more.
What is the difference in home prices?
The median property value is $293,600 in Huntsville against $452,600 in Colorado Springs, a gap of $159,000, or 35%. Measured against local incomes the difference is larger still: the median Huntsville house costs 3.93 years of median household income, against 5.34 years in Colorado Springs.
Will I take a pay cut moving to Huntsville?
Probably a small one. Employers here pay about 2.9% less on average, and federal employees see their GS locality adjustment change. Salary.com still projects roughly $4,724 more disposable income after the cost difference. The move works because of housing costs, not because of salary.
Are property taxes lower in Alabama than Colorado?
Yes, substantially. Alabama's effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing is 0.37% against Colorado's 0.50%. Applied to each city's median home, that is about $1,086 a year in Huntsville versus $2,263 in Colorado Springs — roughly $1,177 a year in difference, on top of the lower purchase price.
Does Alabama tax military retirement or federal pensions?
No. Alabama exempts military retirement pay, federal civil service pensions and Social Security from state income tax. For a career federal or military household this is often the single largest long-term financial difference between the two states.
What is the weather really like compared to Colorado Springs?
Warmer and much wetter. Huntsville gets 55 inches of rain a year against 18, and 1.6 inches of snow against 57. July highs average 90.1°F here against 84.2°F, and summers are humid from June through September. You gain a mild winter and lose the dry air and about 44 sunny days a year. North Alabama also sits in an active severe-weather corridor.
Is the commute worse in Huntsville?
No, it is better. Huntsville averages a 19.7-minute commute against 22.7 minutes in Colorado Springs. Public transit is minimal, though — this is a two-car metro.
- Moving to Huntsville with U.S. Space Command — timelines, waves and buy-versus-rent
- Relocating to Huntsville: the 2026 newcomer guide
- Redstone Arsenal PCS and civil service guide
- The same comparison for Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.
- The seven-question neighborhood quiz
- Huntsville area and subdivision guides
Send me your Colorado address and I will run the comparison on your actual house.
Generic indexes only get you so far. Tell me what you own now and roughly what you would want here, and I will come back with what that specific trade looks like at today's prices — including which areas to be looking at and what the carrying costs actually become.
Or start with the numbers
The Redstone Arsenal Relocation Report is free and covers median home price and price per square foot across 17 Huntsville-area ZIP codes, plus gate commutes and what each price range buys.
Housing figures were pulled live from ValleyMLS on September 9, 2026 and reflect active residential listings on that date; they change daily. Colorado Springs average home value from Zillow, July 31, 2026. Population, income, commute and median property value figures are 2024 American Community Survey data via Data USA. Cost of living comparisons from Expatistan (September 2026) and Salary.com. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation (2026) and AARP's 2026 Alabama state tax guide. Climate data from BestPlaces. Nothing here is tax, legal or financial advice — confirm your own situation with a qualified professional.
