Philadelphia, PA vs Birmingham, AL
Moving from Philadelphia to Birmingham? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $262,556 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia, PA, you'd need about $89,647 in Birmingham, AL (−$10,353).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Birmingham, AL: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 3,903 sqft in Birmingham ($223 vs $128 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Birmingham, AL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $17,376 | −$5,592 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $4,729 | −$180 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,465 | +$25 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,884 | −$432 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,400 | +$1,200 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $9,314 | −$878 |
| Total | $45,025 | $39,168 | −$5,857 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Birmingham, AL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 91.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 4.90% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | -2.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 57 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.22 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $262,556 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $128 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,448 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 9.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 5.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 0.50% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $7,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.70% |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 33 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |