Boston, MA vs Birmingham, AL
Moving from Boston to Birmingham? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($741,868 → $262,556 median home) and taxes.
Boston vs Birmingham 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 Boston, MA, you'd need about $83,126 in Birmingham, AL (−$16,874).
Livability — Boston, MA: 48 · Birmingham, AL: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,146 sqft in Boston vs 3,903 sqft in Birmingham ($436 vs $128 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boston, MA | Birmingham, AL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $38,532 | $17,376 | −$21,156 |
| Groceries | $5,040 | $4,729 | −$310 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $3,465 | +$255 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,884 | −$1,296 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $2,400 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $17,694 | $9,314 | −$8,380 |
| Total | $69,455 | $39,168 | −$30,287 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boston, MA | Birmingham, AL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.4 | 91.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.02% | 4.90% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | -2.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 43 | 57 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.28 | $5.22 |
| Median home price | $741,868 | $262,556 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | 2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $436 | $128 |
| Median rent | $3,211 | $1,448 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 9.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | 5.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.50% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $7,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | 0.70% |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 33 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |