Baltimore, MD vs Birmingham, AL
Moving from Baltimore to Birmingham? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($405,877 → $262,556 median home) and taxes.
Baltimore vs Birmingham at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Baltimore, MD, you'd need about $88,933 in Birmingham, AL (−$11,067).
Livability — Baltimore, MD: 57 · Birmingham, AL: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,341 sqft in Baltimore vs 3,903 sqft in Birmingham ($214 vs $128 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baltimore, MD | Birmingham, AL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,028 | $17,376 | −$5,652 |
| Groceries | $5,075 | $4,729 | −$346 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $3,465 | −$220 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $1,884 | −$504 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $2,400 | +$1,000 |
| Taxes | $11,584 | $9,314 | −$2,270 |
| Total | $47,160 | $39,168 | −$7,992 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baltimore, MD | Birmingham, AL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.2 | 91.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 4.90% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | -2.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.87 | $5.22 |
| Median home price | $405,877 | $262,556 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $128 |
| Median rent | $1,919 | $1,448 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 9.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 5.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.04% | 0.50% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $7,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.70% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $88 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $117 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 33 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.0 | 56.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 19.3 | 1.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |