Economic and financial pain is everywhere.
“Affordability” has become the latest political buzzword as households are juggling rising costs, high debt, and housing pressures.
Though financial strain feels like a universal experience in this economy, some Americans are feeling the burden more than others.
Fortunately, Huntsville is one of those cities that feels the burden less and, for that, the city is ranked the nation’s most financially resilient city, according to CardRates.com – a validation of the city’s long-term economic strategy.
“The latest ranking by Card Rates for Economically Resilient Metros for 2026 is validation of our ongoing economic strategy,” said Shane Davis, Huntsville’s director for urban and economic development. “For more than a decade now, Huntsville’s economic strategy has centered around key factors to yield economic growth that produces opportunity and resilience. A strategy centered around new job creation, housing affordability, and public investment in quality-of-life assets.
“Through these efforts, Huntsville has created 68,000 new jobs across multiple job sectors yielding a more diversified and resilient economy. These new jobs have provided residents with new career opportunities with increased income potential.”
The report emphasizes that financial resilience in the U.S. is highly local. While following national trends is important, it’s clear that economic trends don’t impact every American in the same way. Instead, household stability varies dramatically from metro to metro.
A city’s specific circumstances, including housing affordability and employment rates, tell more of the story than anything else. By understanding a metro’s unique metrics, households in these metros can know how to prepare when a financial shock hits.
“What’s interesting about the rankings is that financial resilience is becoming more local. It is in many ways the ultimate niche-play in terms of lifestyle,” said Bobbi Rebell, consumer finance expert at CardRates.com. “Where you live can have as much impact on your financial stability as the personal decisions you make about your finances.”
The report – www.cardrates.com/studies/2026-financial-resilience-report/ – found that some cities are better positioned to face economic stress. These cities show the most financial resilience based on Card Rates’ dataset:
- Huntsville — 82.1
- Des Moines, Iowa — 75.0
- York, Pa. — 72.4
- Raleigh, N.C. — 71.6
- Ogden, Utah — 71.5
A variety of factors can help explain why these metros perform better than most U.S. cities. Boasting a healthy mix of circumstances, including low poverty and unemployment rates, these cities are able to create an environment where residents can survive economic pressures without tipping into crisis, Rebell said.
Graphic via cardrates.com
“The reason Huntsville stands out is likely because it has managed to grow without losing affordability,” Rebell said. “The city has been able to create new jobs in a variety of areas including technology and defense but its housing is still within reach for its residents. In other words, there are a good amount of opportunities in terms of jobs, and people can afford to live there. That sounds basic but in many areas that see a surge in business, housing prices tend to creep up to levels that can stretch budgets and take away from the quality of living there.
“People can pay for their life and still stay ahead financially.”
For instance, Huntsville and Des Moines scored low compared to other markets on housing burdens, including rent and mortgage payments, while also boasting low home value-to-income ratios. They also ranked well on unemployment, poverty, and uninsured rates, according to the report.
“Like most cities across the country, Huntsville has and continues to advance various strategies centered around housing affordability,” Davis said. “Huntsville has and continues to experience tremendous population growth (28% over the last five years) such that the availability of affordable housing is critical to our future. For the past two years, Huntsville has ranked as the No. 2 Most Affordable Metro in the U.S.
“Our housing affordability efforts have centered around updated zoning to create new housing products, public-private partnerships, infrastructure investments to offset costs, and the expansion of our city limits to help manage rising cost pressures associated with housing.”
With manageable housing payments and firmer income cushions, households in these U.S. cities are less likely to fall into economic downturns and more likely to have some sort of a safety net, i.e., income buffers, in times of financial crisis.
While no region is immune to economic stress, these results show that certain metros can set their residents up with a stronger footing, giving them more room to stay afloat financially than other cities.
Size may be a factor, but it doesn’t truly dictate how a city handles financial shock. Instead, it more so comes down to that metro’s unique economic standing and makeup.
“In the end economic resilience is simple – create a diversified economy within your community that provides a growing tax base and gives residents the opportunity to achieve economic independence,” Davis said. “It’s the accurate execution that is never ending.
“While the recent ranking is validation of our past efforts, there is still more work to be done.”