Huntsville, Alabama is the closest major city to Redstone Arsenal. Huntsville has about 184,000 people, and is in Madison County, which has a population of about 344,000 people. Other nearby small communities include Madison (45,000), Harvest (5,000), Meridianville (6,000), Decatur (56,000), and Athens (22,000).

It is about 7 miles from downtown Huntsville to Redstone; this takes about 11 minutes to commute, but the commute distance to other communities will generally be longer. The average commute in Madison County is about 19 minutes.

Local Housing Rental Prices: The average apartment rent in the Huntsville area ranges from $400 to $650 per month, with a median of about $500 per month.

Local Housing Purchase Prices: The average price for a house in Huntsville in the last few years was about $175,000, compared to about $173,000 for Alabama overall.

Short Description of the Area: Huntsville is a mid-sized city in northern Alabama, just south of the Tennessee state border, and a keystone city of the Tennessee Valley. Generally, this is an economically sound area with a fairly well educated population, good shopping, and a good basis in activities, museums, parks, and other community foundations.

Climate and Weather: The Tennessee Valley area has a warm and humid climate, but real seasons, with winter temperatures ranging from the low 50s to the low 30s and summer temperatures in the high 80s to high 70s. The area has variable weather, including regular summer thunderstorms, occasional inland remnants from tropical storms or hurricanes, and sometimes light snow in deep winter.