Best Places to Buy Rental Property in Alabama (2026)

There is no honest way to rank Alabama cities by rental return without rent data, and this page does not have it. What it does have is transaction evidence: the median price homes actually closed at inside each city's limits, and how many closings happened. That answers the two questions that come before any cash flow analysis, what it costs to get in and whether you can get back out.

What this page measures, and what it does not

Every city below cleared at least 100 closings in its reporting window, which filters out markets too thin to read. They are ranked cheapest first by median closed price, from $132,800 to $303,250. You will not find rent estimates, rent-to-price ratios, cap rates, cash-on-cash projections or gross yield rankings here. Resideline does not have verified rent data for these cities, so publishing those numbers would be invention rather than analysis. Entry price and transaction volume are what the data supports. Every figure describes closings inside the city limits, not the wider postal area that shares the city's name. The two can differ a lot: a postal area usually reaches into surrounding townships, which pulls the median toward whatever those townships are worth. Alabama's statewide median closed price is $289,900 across 42,535 tracked closings.

The rankings

1. Montgomery, $132,800, 785 closings

At $132,800 the entry price is about 46 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 785 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 131 a month. About 96 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Montgomery market page.

2. Bessemer, $136,000, 252 closings

At $136,000 the entry price is about 47 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 252 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 42 a month. About 98 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Bessemer market page.

3. Birmingham, $145,000, 1,892 closings

At $145,000 the entry price is about 50 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 1,892 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 315 a month. About 86 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Birmingham market page.

4. Anniston, $170,000, 256 closings

At $170,000 the entry price is about 59 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 256 closings there over the last last 12 months, roughly 21 a month. About 95 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Anniston market page.

5. Mobile, $205,000, 1,248 closings

At $205,000 the entry price is about 71 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 1,248 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 208 a month. About 94 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Mobile market page.

6. Jasper, $220,000, 251 closings

At $220,000 the entry price is about 76 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 251 closings there over the last last 12 months, roughly 21 a month. About 98 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Jasper market page.

7. Florence, $225,000, 316 closings

At $225,000 the entry price is about 78 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 316 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 53 a month. About 97 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Florence market page.

8. Dothan, $225,000, 579 closings

At $225,000 the entry price is about 78 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 579 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 96 a month. About 96 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Dothan market page.

9. Decatur, $229,950, 596 closings

At $229,950 the entry price is about 79 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 596 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 99 a month. About 90 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Decatur market page.

10. Phenix City, $239,900, 229 closings

At $239,900 the entry price is about 83 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 229 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 38 a month. About 93 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Phenix City market page.

11. Cullman, $258,103, 222 closings

At $258,103 the entry price is about 89 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 222 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 37 a month. About 97 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Cullman market page.

12. Tuscaloosa, $279,200, 964 closings

At $279,200 the entry price is about 96 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 964 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 161 a month. Full detail is on the Tuscaloosa market page.

13. Athens, $290,786, 443 closings

At $290,786 the entry price is about 100 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 443 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 74 a month. About 97 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Athens market page.

14. Huntsville, $301,000, 2,018 closings

At $301,000 the entry price is about 104 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 2,018 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 336 a month. About 89 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Huntsville market page.

15. Harvest, $303,250, 207 closings

At $303,250 the entry price is about 105 percent of the Alabama median. Resideline tracked 207 closings there over the last last 12 months, roughly 17 a month. About 98 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Harvest market page.

How to use this list

Treat it as a shortlist, not an answer. A citywide median cannot price a specific address: property type, size, condition and location move a number far more than the city line does. Run any address on this list through Resideline for the comparable set behind its value.

Figures last updated August 23, 2026 from closings Resideline tracked.