A free resource by NextGen Coastal — monthly OC rental market intelligence
State data • Updated March 2026

Alabama rent: top & bottom cities

Median ZORI rent across Alabama cities, statewide macro overlay, plus the most-expensive and most-affordable cities side by side. Live from the NGP-Rental-Data warehouse.

Alabama at a glance

$1,460Median city rent (ZORI)
2.7%Unemployment
1,655Permits / month
20Cities w/ rent data

Unemployment from FRED state series. Permits from Census BPS. Median = median across all Alabama cities with current ZORI data. See methodology.

Most expensive & most affordable

Top 10 by rent

CityRent (ZORI)YoY
Orange Beach $2,708
Irondale $2,273 +6.5%
Pike Road $2,137 +3.2%
Fairhope $2,080 +2.9%
Chelsea $2,068 +6.7%
Mountain Brook $2,054
Gardendale $1,917
Prattville $1,886 +3.5%
Helena $1,885
Springville $1,859

Top 10 most affordable (pop ≥ 50k)

CityRent (ZORI)YoY
Decatur $1,128 +3.1%
Dothan $1,201 +8.4%
Birmingham $1,296 +1.1%
Mobile $1,298 +3.9%
Montgomery $1,301 +3.2%
Huntsville $1,309 +3.1%
Hoover $1,387 +1.4%
Madison $1,470 +1.5%
Tuscaloosa $1,490 +5.3%
Auburn $1,757 +6.0%

Top 5 cities — overlaid rent trajectory

ZORI rent index — top 5 Alabama cities

Monthly Zillow ZORI rent index. Data updates monthly. Source: methodology.

Compare cities in Alabama

Pick any 2-4 cities for a side-by-side view:

Orange Beach vs Irondale vs Pike Road · Pick your own →