Birmingham, AL vs Baltimore, MD
Moving from Birmingham to Baltimore? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($262,556 → $405,877 median home) and taxes.
Birmingham vs Baltimore 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 $112,444 in Baltimore, MD (+$12,444).
Livability — Birmingham, AL: 71 · Baltimore, MD: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,903 sqft in Birmingham vs 2,341 sqft in Baltimore ($128 vs $214 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Birmingham, AL | Baltimore, MD | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,376 | $23,028 | +$5,652 |
| Groceries | $4,729 | $5,075 | +$346 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,685 | +$220 |
| Utilities | $1,884 | $2,388 | +$504 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,400 | −$1,000 |
| Taxes | $9,314 | $11,584 | +$2,271 |
| Total | $39,168 | $47,160 | +$7,992 |
Side by side
| Metric | Birmingham, AL | Baltimore, MD |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.8 | 103.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.90% | 4.86% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -2.6% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.22 | $5.87 |
| Median home price | $262,556 | $405,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.0% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $128 | $214 |
| Median rent | $1,448 | $1,919 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 11.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.25% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.00% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.50% | 1.04% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.70% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 22.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $88 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $117 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 33 | 27 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 56.6 | 45.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.4 | 19.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |