Washington, DC vs Montgomery, AL
Moving from Washington to Montgomery? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($583,013 → $214,099 median home) and taxes.
Washington 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 Washington, DC, you'd need about $82,102 in Montgomery, AL (−$17,898).
Livability — Washington, DC: 39 · Montgomery, AL: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,286 sqft in Washington vs 4,789 sqft in Montgomery ($389 vs $104 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Washington, DC | Montgomery, AL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $28,992 | $16,824 | −$12,168 |
| Groceries | $5,318 | $4,729 | −$588 |
| Transportation | $3,855 | $3,465 | −$390 |
| Utilities | $2,748 | $1,884 | −$864 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $2,400 | +$1,000 |
| Taxes | $17,710 | $8,784 | −$8,926 |
| Total | $60,023 | $38,086 | −$21,937 |
Side by side
| Metric | Washington, DC | Montgomery, AL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 109.5 | 89.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.87% | 5.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.2% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.23 | $5.12 |
| Median home price | $583,013 | $214,099 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.9× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.5% | 3.7% |
| Price per square foot | $389 | $104 |
| Median rent | $2,416 | $1,402 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.0% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 9.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.75% | 5.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.95% | 0.32% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $26,000 | $7,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.70% |
| Avg commute (min) | 34 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 25.4 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $80 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $271 | $117 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 1,000 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 29 | 33 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.8 | 56.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 13.7 | 1.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |