Birmingham, AL vs Nashville, TN
Moving from Birmingham to Nashville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($262,556 → $455,958 median home) and taxes.
Birmingham vs Nashville 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 $105,731 in Nashville, TN (+$5,731).
Livability — Birmingham, AL: 71 · Nashville, TN: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,903 sqft in Birmingham vs 2,193 sqft in Nashville ($128 vs $228 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Birmingham, AL | Nashville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,376 | $21,576 | +$4,200 |
| Groceries | $4,729 | $4,715 | −$15 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,130 | −$335 |
| Utilities | $1,884 | $1,608 | −$276 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $2,200 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $9,314 | $5,231 | −$4,083 |
| Total | $39,168 | $38,459 | −$709 |
Side by side
| Metric | Birmingham, AL | Nashville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.8 | 97.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.90% | 3.80% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -2.6% | 8.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 57 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.22 | $5.52 |
| Median home price | $262,556 | $455,958 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 5.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.0% | -0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $128 | $228 |
| Median rent | $1,448 | $1,798 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.25% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.50% | 0.55% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.70% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 33 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |