Philadelphia, PA vs Mobile, AL
Moving from Philadelphia to Mobile? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $197,857 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia vs Mobile 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 $86,690 in Mobile, AL (−$13,310).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Mobile, AL: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 5,181 sqft in Mobile ($223 vs $97 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Mobile, AL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $15,876 | −$7,092 |
| 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 | $9,039 | −$1,153 |
| Total | $45,025 | $37,393 | −$7,632 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Mobile, AL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 88.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 5.91% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 3.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 45 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.05 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $197,857 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 3.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $97 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,323 |
| 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% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $7,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.70% |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 26 |
| 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 |