SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
Huntsville continues to flex its growth muscle, adding nearly 13 square miles to its footprint between 2014 and 2023—a size larger than Homewood, a Birmingham suburb spanning less than 9 square miles.
“Annexation within Huntsville has been and continues to be driven by landowner requests to be incorporated into Huntsville city limits, a policy that has been in place for decades,” the city said in a statement to AL.com.
Annexation requests occur when property owners seek to join the city for access to its services, provided their land adjoins Huntsville and isn’t part of another city. Each request undergoes a rigorous review to ensure the city can extend services such as public safety, utilities, and zoning support. Approval ultimately rests with the Huntsville City Council.
This approach has fueled remarkable growth. Between 2014 and 2023, Huntsville processed over 200 annexation requests, ranging from less than an acre to a massive 1,221-acre parcel. The result? 46,000 new jobs, over $8 billion in private investments, and a dramatically expanded tax base supporting schools, infrastructure, parks, and more.
Huntsville’s annexation strategy is primarily focused on undeveloped land, with most of the recent additions in Limestone County. Madison and Morgan counties contributed smaller portions. Despite the landmass surge, the population of annexed areas remains modest, with just 168 new residents added since 2015.
Still, the city’s land expansion has positioned Huntsville as Alabama’s largest city by area and now the most populous, with growth that’s outpacing other major cities in the state. Between 1980 and 2023, Huntsville nearly doubled its landmass, growing from 116.71 to 226.59 square miles, while its population climbed from 142,513 to 235,204.
As Huntsville adds about 1,000 acres yearly, city officials tout this approach as a win-win: economic growth without steep tax increases and enhanced trust from landowners eager to join a thriving community.
Huntsville’s land expansion, combined with its strategic economic investments, secures its reputation as a city poised for continued leadership in Alabama and beyond.
