Phoenix, AZ vs Huntsville, AL
Moving from Phoenix to Huntsville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($448,352 → $316,645 median home) and taxes.
Phoenix vs Huntsville 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 Phoenix, AZ, you'd need about $89,618 in Huntsville, AL (−$10,382).
Livability — Phoenix, AZ: 62 · Huntsville, AL: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,063 sqft in Phoenix vs 3,236 sqft in Huntsville ($242 vs $155 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Phoenix, AZ | Huntsville, AL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,904 | $16,620 | −$4,284 |
| Groceries | $4,919 | $4,729 | −$190 |
| Transportation | $3,960 | $3,465 | −$495 |
| Utilities | $1,668 | $1,884 | +$216 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $2,400 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $7,280 | $9,172 | +$1,892 |
| Total | $40,531 | $38,270 | −$2,261 |
Side by side
| Metric | Phoenix, AZ | Huntsville, AL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.7 | 93.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.88% | 4.21% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.7% | 11.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 86 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.96 | $5.34 |
| Median home price | $448,352 | $316,645 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.6× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.7% | 0.7% |
| Price per square foot | $242 | $155 |
| Median rent | $1,742 | $1,385 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.5% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 9.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | 5.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 0.39% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,500 | $7,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.68% | 0.70% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.5 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 104 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 41 | 33 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |