San Francisco, CA vs Montgomery, AL
Moving from San Francisco to Montgomery? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,149,215 → $214,099 median home) and taxes.
San Francisco vs Montgomery 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 San Francisco, CA, you'd need about $76,509 in Montgomery, AL (−$23,491).
Livability — San Francisco, CA: 35 · Montgomery, AL: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 653 sqft in San Francisco vs 4,789 sqft in Montgomery ($766 vs $104 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Francisco, CA | Montgomery, AL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $39,096 | $16,824 | −$22,272 |
| Groceries | $5,761 | $4,729 | −$1,032 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,465 | −$1,660 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,884 | −$1,920 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,400 | +$900 |
| Taxes | $24,108 | $8,784 | −$15,324 |
| Total | $79,394 | $38,086 | −$41,308 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Francisco, CA | Montgomery, AL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 117.6 | 89.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.22% | 5.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.1% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.69 | $5.12 |
| Median home price | $1,149,215 | $214,099 |
| Home price ÷ income | 8.9× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.8% | 3.7% |
| Price per square foot | $766 | $104 |
| Median rent | $3,258 | $1,402 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 9.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 5.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 0.32% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $7,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 0.70% |
| Avg commute (min) | 33 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 33 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |