Indianapolis, IN vs Tuscaloosa, AL
Moving from Indianapolis to Tuscaloosa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($295,921 → $223,201 median home) and taxes.
Indianapolis vs Tuscaloosa 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 Indianapolis, IN, you'd need about $94,144 in Tuscaloosa, AL (−$5,856).
Livability — Indianapolis, IN: 71 · Tuscaloosa, AL: 74 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,211 sqft in Indianapolis vs 4,591 sqft in Tuscaloosa ($156 vs $109 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Indianapolis, IN | Tuscaloosa, AL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,636 | $17,820 | −$816 |
| Groceries | $4,740 | $4,729 | −$11 |
| Transportation | $3,250 | $3,465 | +$215 |
| Utilities | $1,932 | $1,884 | −$48 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $2,400 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $7,367 | $8,901 | +$1,534 |
| Total | $37,525 | $39,199 | +$1,674 |
Side by side
| Metric | Indianapolis, IN | Tuscaloosa, AL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.28% | 5.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | 13.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $295,921 | $223,201 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.3% | 0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $156 | $109 |
| Median rent | $1,553 | $1,485 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 9.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.05% | 5.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.84% | 0.33% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $7,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.20% | 0.70% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.9 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $102 | $117 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 360 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 86 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 33 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 56.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 25.5 | 1.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 55% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |