Skyrocketing population or popping its rocket out of the skyline?

Huntsville residents have taken to Facebook to offer their takes on why the city fell this year from #1 to #85 in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Places to Live ranking.

And while the answers widely vary, hundreds are blaming the city’s decline on its newfound popularity.

“As per the Eagles song, ‘The Last Resort’ when you call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye… having grown up in Southern California during the 1960s, I know how someplace once nice can be ruined…” Bob Rivas commented on AL.com’s Facebook page.

“Fewer humans = ‘Best Place to Live’,” wrote Stephen D. Kennamer.

“Forced Population Increase after Called ‘Best Place to Live’ = No Longer ‘Best Place to Live.’

“Guess the city leaders never got the memo which said, ‘More People, More Problems,’” he continued.

Others pointed to more specific hassles that came with the city’s population boom.

“They want growth but don’t work on infrastructure enough to keep up with the increasing traffic from all the people living here,” Paul Charles wrote.

“It shouldn’t take 30 minutes to go 5 miles.”

“There is a huge influx of people looking for a better standard of living,” commented Deirdre Dunbar.

“By moving here our cities have become overcrowded, finding a place to live at a reasonable rate is a nightmare, and the job market is now saturated.”

“But it is okay,” she continued.

“The number of housing units is increasing as I write. We have a massive movement to construct new housing. By building new housing and new infrastructure- even the new highway being built on the north side of Huntsville- we have changed the complexion of our great city which was once dotted with agricultural fields into a maze of blacktop.”

Overdevelopment and a lack of proper infrastructure to support thousands moving in were the top complaints people had about quality of life in the Rocket City.

And one commentor joked that Huntsville dropped in rankings after losing the aforementioned rocket in 2023.

“It’s because they took the rocket down!” Austin Bearden wrote.

Several other commentors offered their own humorous ideas for the drop in ranking.

“I knew I should have worn trunks instead of a speedo,” wrote Jeff Lackey.

“Now look what happened!”

And Shutter Speed said it’s because the city doesn’t have a Buc-ees.

Many more hopped on to say people shouldn’t care so much about the city’s ranking one way or another.

“Imagine moving around wherever USNAWR said to,” wrote Liz Bourner Laney in one of the most liked comments.

“If the rankings shift around that much, then their criteria is likely flawed and meaningless,” wrote David Newsome.

Share your thoughts on Huntsville’s most recent ranking on the AL.com Facebook page.