Mobile, AL vs Orlando, FL
Moving from Mobile to Orlando? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($197,857 → $387,733 median home) and taxes.
Mobile vs Orlando 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 Mobile, AL, you'd need about $114,483 in Orlando, FL (+$14,483).
Livability — Mobile, AL: 73 · Orlando, FL: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,181 sqft in Mobile vs 2,385 sqft in Orlando ($97 vs $210 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Mobile, AL | Orlando, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,876 | $23,724 | +$7,848 |
| Groceries | $4,729 | $4,813 | +$84 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $4,800 | +$1,335 |
| Utilities | $1,884 | $1,656 | −$228 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $4,200 | +$1,800 |
| Taxes | $9,039 | $4,915 | −$4,123 |
| Total | $37,393 | $44,108 | +$6,716 |
Side by side
| Metric | Mobile, AL | Orlando, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 88.7 | 101.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.91% | 5.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 12.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 45 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.05 | $5.78 |
| Median home price | $197,857 | $387,733 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.6× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.4% | -3.1% |
| Price per square foot | $97 | $210 |
| Median rent | $1,323 | $1,977 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.25% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.70% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 33 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |