Three things sit in tension here. Huntsville's measured crime places it in the 11th percentile of the 13,216 US jurisdictions SafeNest grades, and the 2024 direction is worse, not better: violent crime rose 272.3% year over year, a pattern SafeNest classifies as worsening. Schools split rather than average out: high schools rate 5.9/10 while middle schools sit at 4.3/10, so a family's experience depends heavily on which level their children are entering, and New Century Technology High School reaches 9.5/10 inside the same district. Flood context is coarse by construction. Alabama's 10 federal flood declarations and 25 hurricane or tropical-storm declarations describe a state, not a parcel. Every figure on this page is a city-wide average. The safest and least safe Huntsville blocks differ dramatically, and the grade C belongs to the city, not to the house being considered.
Crime in Huntsville vs. the national average
Huntsville reports 484 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, 27% above the U.S. average of 381, and 2,388 property crimes per 100k versus a national 1,954 (22% above). In the most recent FBI reporting year (2024), the violent crime rate rose 272.3% year over year, a pattern SafeNest classifies as worsening. Single-year swings of this size can also reflect changes in how agencies report crime data, not only changes on the ground.
| Huntsville | US average | |
|---|---|---|
| Violent crime (per 100k) | 484 | 381 |
| Property crime (per 100k) | 2388 | 1954 |
City-wide averages hide block-by-block variation — the safest and least safe neighborhoods in Huntsville can differ dramatically. For a specific address, a SafeNest report covers it directly — or search free in the iPhone app.
Flood & natural hazard risk
Federal disaster records for Alabama — the state SafeNest uses for Huntsville's flood context — list 10 FEMA flood disaster declarations between 1961 and 1991, most recently "Severe Storms & Flooding". Alabama has also seen 25 hurricane or tropical-storm declarations, events that frequently drive flooding. These are state-level federal declarations, not a parcel-level flood-zone determination — a specific Huntsville address may sit inside or well outside a FEMA flood zone, which SafeNest does not determine; check FEMA's flood maps and flood-insurance requirements for that address.
Schools in Huntsville
Public schools in Huntsville average 5.1/10 on the SafeNest School Score across 47 rated schools. By level, high schools rate strongest at 5.9/10 on average, while middle schools average 4.3/10. The highest-scoring is New Century Technology High School at 9.5/10.
Registered offenders
Registered-offender data is meaningful only at the address level, so SafeNest does not publish a city-wide figure for Huntsville: a single citywide number would blend blocks with very different profiles and mislead more than it informs. Registered offender counts by distance band for any specific Huntsville address are included in a SafeNest report, drawn directly from the state's public registry. The iPhone app shows that count free for any address, and maps each registrant with Premium.
Check a specific Huntsville address
City averages are a starting point. A SafeNest report covers one specific address — crime, registered offender counts, flood and disaster history, schools, air quality, taxes — delivered by email as a PDF for $6.99.
Or search any Huntsville address free in the iPhone app.
Common questions about safety in Huntsville
Is Huntsville, AL safe?
Huntsville records 484 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, 27% above the US national average of 381. Overall SafeNest grade: C, a city-wide average of reported crime. It does not describe a specific street or address.
What is the crime rate in Huntsville?
Huntsville reports approximately 484 violent crimes and 2388 property crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024, the most recent FBI reporting year in our data.
Does Huntsville have flood risk?
SafeNest reports federal disaster declaration history for the area. For Huntsville, federal records show 10 FEMA flood disaster declarations for Alabama, most recently in 1991; a specific address may still sit inside or outside a FEMA flood zone, which SafeNest does not determine — check FEMA's flood maps for that address.
How this page was built
Every figure here comes from the same public records behind SafeNest's grading. We published the full method and what it does and doesn't support in We graded 13,216 American cities with FBI data — including where a letter grade means almost nothing. City comparisons: safest cities in Alabama.
Other city safety reports
Data compiled from public sources including FBI crime statistics, FEMA disaster declarations and the FEMA National Risk Index, NCES education data, and state registries. Last updated 2026-08-17. Figures are city-level estimates; verify with primary sources before making decisions. SafeNest is not a consumer reporting agency (see Terms).