Birmingham, AL vs Austin, TX
Moving from Birmingham to Austin? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($262,556 → $428,524 median home) and taxes.
Birmingham vs Austin 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 Birmingham, AL, you'd need about $107,095 in Austin, TX (+$7,095).
Livability — Birmingham, AL: 71 · Austin, TX: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,903 sqft in Birmingham vs 2,450 sqft in Austin ($128 vs $204 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Birmingham, AL | Austin, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,376 | $19,620 | +$2,244 |
| Groceries | $4,729 | $4,647 | −$83 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,675 | +$210 |
| Utilities | $1,884 | $1,836 | −$48 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $3,600 | +$1,200 |
| Taxes | $9,314 | $9,558 | +$245 |
| Total | $39,168 | $42,936 | +$3,768 |
Side by side
| Metric | Birmingham, AL | Austin, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.8 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.90% | 4.30% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -2.6% | 14.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.22 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $262,556 | $428,524 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.0% | -6.0% |
| Price per square foot | $128 | $204 |
| Median rent | $1,448 | $1,635 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.25% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.50% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.70% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $117 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 33 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 56.6 | 36.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.4 | 0.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |