Birmingham, AL vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Birmingham to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($262,556 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Birmingham vs Seattle 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 $122,847 in Seattle, WA (+$22,847).
Livability — Birmingham, AL: 71 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,903 sqft in Birmingham vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($128 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Birmingham, AL | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,376 | $26,784 | +$9,408 |
| Groceries | $4,729 | $5,405 | +$676 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $4,075 | +$610 |
| Utilities | $1,884 | $1,548 | −$336 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,500 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $9,314 | $8,826 | −$487 |
| Total | $39,168 | $48,138 | +$8,970 |
Side by side
| Metric | Birmingham, AL | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.8 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.90% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -2.6% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.22 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $262,556 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.0% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $128 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,448 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.25% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.00% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.50% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.70% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $117 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 33 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 56.6 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.4 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 47% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |