By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A national consumer advocacy website has named Pelham one of the best Alabama cities for young families, citing the city’s inclusion of Oak Mountain State Park and its rapid growth over the past decade.

Nerdwallet.com, which provides consumer information on everything from investing to education and travel, released its list of “Best towns in Alabama for young families” on Oct. 28.

The website examined several factors while compiling the list, including each city’s ranking on Greatschools.org, median home values, ongoing monthly home costs such as utility fees and mortgage payments and the city’s average household income growth over the past decade.

Pelham ranked No. 8 on the list, beating out Fairhope and Trussville in the top 10. The top seven cities were Auburn, Madison, Hartselle, Prattville, Muscle Shoals, Saraland and Vestavia Hills.

“Pelham is a suburb of Birmingham in the foothills of Oak Mountain. The state park encompassing the mountain is the largest in the entire state, at 9,940 acres,” read Pelham’s entry on the list. “Outdoorsy families visiting the park can hike, bike, ride horses, boat and fish. The city’s population has also grown significantly, with 48.6 percent growth between 2000 and 2010.

Pelham City Council President Rick Hayes said he was “excited” about the ranking, and said Pelham’s recent streak of national and statewide recognitions “point out what we’ve known all along.”

“We are proud to be a great community in the state of Alabama, and we won’t stop until we are the absolute best community in the state,” Hayes said.

To view the full list, visit Nerdwallet.com/blog/2013/best-towns-alabama-young-families/.