Providence, RI vs Birmingham, AL
Moving from Providence to Birmingham? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($524,867 → $262,556 median home) and taxes.
Providence 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 Providence, RI, you'd need about $90,399 in Birmingham, AL (−$9,601).
Livability — Providence, RI: 58 · Birmingham, AL: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,524 sqft in Providence vs 3,903 sqft in Birmingham ($328 vs $128 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Providence, RI | Birmingham, AL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,956 | $17,376 | −$8,580 |
| Groceries | $4,922 | $4,729 | −$192 |
| Transportation | $3,875 | $3,465 | −$410 |
| Utilities | $3,060 | $1,884 | −$1,176 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $2,400 | +$700 |
| Taxes | $13,121 | $9,314 | −$3,807 |
| Total | $52,634 | $39,168 | −$13,466 |
Side by side
| Metric | Providence, RI | Birmingham, AL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.5 | 91.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.82% | 4.90% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | -2.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 57 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.22 |
| Median home price | $524,867 | $262,556 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | 2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $328 | $128 |
| Median rent | $2,163 | $1,448 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.4% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 9.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.99% | 5.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.31% | 0.50% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $7,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.70% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.3 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 21 | 33 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |