Tuscaloosa, AL vs Minneapolis, MN
Moving from Tuscaloosa to Minneapolis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($223,201 → $393,774 median home) and taxes.
Tuscaloosa vs Minneapolis 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 Tuscaloosa, AL, you'd need about $117,053 in Minneapolis, MN (+$17,053).
Livability — Tuscaloosa, AL: 74 · Minneapolis, MN: 54 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,591 sqft in Tuscaloosa vs 2,285 sqft in Minneapolis ($109 vs $219 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tuscaloosa, AL | Minneapolis, MN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,820 | $20,652 | +$2,832 |
| Groceries | $4,729 | $5,227 | +$498 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,375 | −$90 |
| Utilities | $1,884 | $1,776 | −$108 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $2,200 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $8,901 | $16,345 | +$7,445 |
| Total | $39,199 | $49,575 | +$10,376 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tuscaloosa, AL | Minneapolis, MN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.1 | 104.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.59% | 3.90% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 13.9% | 4.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 37 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.07 | $5.93 |
| Median home price | $223,201 | $393,774 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | 2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $109 | $219 |
| Median rent | $1,485 | $1,721 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.25% | 8.10% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.00% | 9.85% |
| Property tax rate | 0.33% | 1.10% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.70% | 1.58% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 16.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.15 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 33 | 4 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |