More than 40 Fortune 500 companies have facilities in Huntsville. The city also has a large number of international hi-tech companies. Research and development as well as aerospace and military technology are major economic factors for Huntsville. US space and defense agencies are also located in Huntsville. The Cummings Research Park, the Redstone Arsenal and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center are the main centers for the technology based economy. Cummings Research Park is the second largest research park in the nation and the fourth largest in the world.
Most of the major aerospace companies have operations in Huntsville. The city is also home to commercial technology, computer graphics and telecommunications companies. Manufacturing, retail, education and healthcare are also prominent factors for the economy. The manufacturing sector has more than 200 companies and includes about one-fifth of the local area jobs. Many of the highly trained and skilled manufacturing workers are involved with technology-based precision manufacturing. Military and support contract employment also accounts for a large number of jobs.
Some of the major employers in the Huntsville area are shown below:
- SCI Systems
- SCI Technology
- Sanmina-SCI Systems Holdings
- The Health Care Authority of the City of Huntsville
- Huntsville City Board of Education
- NASA/George C Marshall Space Flight Center
- Siemens VDO Automotive Electronics
- City of Huntsville
- Deltacom - Telecommunications provider
- ITC Deltacom
- Madison County Board of Education
- Teledyne Brown Engineering - Aerospace and Defense
- Adtran - Telecommunications
- Teledyne Isotopes
- Intergraph - Computer graphics
- Avocent Software - Switch manufacturer
- Wolverine Tube - Copper tube manufacturer and distributor
- Boeing - Aerospace and Defense
- General Dynamics
- Raytheon
- L-3 Communications
- SAIC - Aerospace and Defense
- University of Alabama in Huntsville - Education
- Benchmark Electronics - Electronic components
- Northrop Grumman - Aerospace and Defense
- COLSA - Aerospace and Defense
- Huntsville Hospital System
Additional information of interest about Huntsville: The city has one of the highest rates of engineers per total employment in the nation. The city has a large number of computer specialists. In early 2009 the average salary in Huntsville was $41,000. In Huntsville about 27% of the residents over the age of 25 have a bachelor's degree and 15% have a graduate degree. The cost of living index was 83.1% in 2008.
The city has received numerous high rankings from prominent sources including:
- Computer World - Included in their top 5 technology cities list
- Expansion Magazine - One of the nation's leading 5 star Business Metros
- Kiplinger's Personal Finance - Included in the top 25 list of best cities for mid-level professionals
- Manpower - One of the top ten cities for job growth markets
- MSN/Sperling's - Part of their top ten cities list for job growth and affordability
- Forbes Magazine - Included in the nation's top 20 for leading cities for business and careers
- Careerbuilder.com - Part of their top 10 great cities for job seekers list.
Some of the major business related organizations associated with Huntsville:
- Tennessee Valley Authority Economic Development
- Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce
- Huntsville Association of Small Businesses in Advanced Technology
- Huntsville Chapter - Alabama Technology Members Association
The Huntsville Times offers current information on business activities in the Huntsville area.
