Birmingham, AL vs Providence, RI
Moving from Birmingham to Providence? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($262,556 → $524,867 median home) and taxes.
Birmingham vs Providence 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 $110,621 in Providence, RI (+$10,621).
Livability — Birmingham, AL: 71 · Providence, RI: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,903 sqft in Birmingham vs 1,524 sqft in Providence ($128 vs $328 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Birmingham, AL | Providence, RI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,376 | $25,956 | +$8,580 |
| Groceries | $4,729 | $4,922 | +$192 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,875 | +$410 |
| Utilities | $1,884 | $3,060 | +$1,176 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,700 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $9,314 | $13,121 | +$3,808 |
| Total | $39,168 | $52,634 | +$13,466 |
Side by side
| Metric | Birmingham, AL | Providence, RI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.8 | 101.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.90% | 5.82% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -2.6% | 3.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 57 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.22 | $5.78 |
| Median home price | $262,556 | $524,867 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 6.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.0% | 3.1% |
| Price per square foot | $128 | $328 |
| Median rent | $1,448 | $2,163 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 11.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.25% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.00% | 5.99% |
| Property tax rate | 0.50% | 1.31% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $7,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.70% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 28.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 240 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 33 | 21 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |