Madison named No. 1 city to live in Alabama
Niche has named Madison as the best city in Alabama to live. RECORD PHOTOS
Harvest, Huntsville, Lifestyles, Madison, Madison County Record, Monrovia, News, Schools, Unincorporated Madison County, Z - News Main
 By  GreggParker Published 
4:04 pm Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Madison named No. 1 city to live in Alabama

MADISON – Madison often earns a slot on lists that rank ‘The Top Ten …’ or ‘Outstanding 25 Cities to …’ However, Madison recently was rated as ‘THE’ best city to live in the state of Alabama.

Niche, a web-based analysis of statistics and reviews, ranked Madison as first for Alabama in its “2017 Best Place to Live” listing. To determine the rankings, teams of employees at Niche compiled voluminous data, including census findings, education scorecards and crime reports.

Niche scored each Alabama city in 12 categories. Madison scored the following ratings: public schools, A+; housing, A+; good for families, A+; jobs, A; cost of living, A-; outdoor activities, B+; crime & safety, B-; nightlife, B-; diversity, A-; weather, B+; health & fitness, B+; and commute, A-.

Madison received the following summary from Niche for its quality of life: “This town is booming. It is growing so fast, we don’t know what to do with it! Our community is much more diverse than most in Alabama because of a nearby army base and loads of engineering opportunities.”

Rounding out the top five cities to live in Alabama were Vestavia Hills in second place, Homewood, Mountain Brook and Hoover in fifth place. Huntsville was rated in eleventh place.

With headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pa., Niche produces comprehensive rankings, report cards and profiles for every school with grades K-12, college and neighborhood in the United States. The company constantly updates and connects millions of data points to produce new rankings and insights.

In a previous survey, Niche rated the Madison City Schools district in third place among 135 school districts in Alabama. MCS scored an overall A+.

All seven elementary schools in Madison placed in the top 25 in individual school rankings. All four Madison secondary schools placed in the top 10 in Alabama: Bob Jones High School, fifth; James Clemens High School, eighth; Liberty Middle School, ninth; and Discovery Middle School, 10th.

These accolades for Madison schools appeared in Niche’s “2017 Best Schools in America.” list.

For more information, visit niche.com.

Also on The Madison Record
Madison Witches Ride takes off this Sunday in downtown Madison
A: Main, Events, Madison County Record, ...
By STAFF REPORTS 
October 14, 2026
MADISON - The Madison Witches Ride is back for its fifth year this weekend. On Sunday, Oct. 18 from 3 to 5 p.m. In a fun ride, roll and stroll through...
Special Olympics needs 1,400 volunteers for Oct. 20 event
A: Main, Events, Madison County Record, ...
ERIN COGGINS news@themadisonrecord.com 
October 14, 2026
HUNTSVILLE — Special Olympics Madison County is calling on the community to help make a difference in the lives of local athletes by volunteering at i...
Fees for access, rentals from Parks and Recreation Department increase
Madison County Record, News, The Madison Recor, ...
Gregg Parker 
October 14, 2026
MADISON – Madison residents will notice that they’re paying a bit more for reserving a meeting room, joining a sports team or accessing a sports court...
Library to host Sharon Cameron, ‘New York Times’ Bestselling Author
Events, Madison County Record, News, ...
Gregg Parker 
October 14, 2026
MADISON – Madison Public Library, 142 Plaza Blvd. has scheduled ‘An Evening With Sharon Cameron,’ who hails as a “New York Times” Bestselling Author. ...
Huntsville Botanical Garden stages grown-up scares with Spellbound
Events, Madison County Record, News, ...
Maria Rakoczy 
October 14, 2026
MADISON – With the changing seasons, Huntsville Botanical Garden is taking advantage of autumn’s chills to offer Halloween-inspired fun for grown-ups....
Behind the scenes of preserving history: the digitizing process
News
EXPLORING LOCAL HISTORY WITH MARIA
Maria Rakoczy 
October 14, 2026
MADISON – Last week’s column explored UAH’s archives as a community resource for preserving and researching local history. A big part of UAH’s archive...
Not for the weak of heart: Jets best Sparkman in nail-biting matchup to take 6A Region 4 lead
A: Main, Madison County Record, News, ...
Jets best rival Sparkman in nail-biting matchup to take 6A Region 4 lead
Bob Labbe 
October 13, 2026
HARVEST - “This was the first game for me where I thought I was having a heart attack. I felt as though my heart almost stopped.” That’s how Sparkman ...
Commission approves more than 37,000 square feet of commercial projects in downtown area
A: Main, Business, Madison County Record, ...
Staff Reports 
October 7, 2026
Downtown MADISON – The Madison Historic Preservation Commission recently voted to approve Certificates of Appropriateness for three commercial project...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *