According to the most recent data on the cost of living, Birmingham has an overall cost of living index of 87 which is 0.9x lower than the national index of 100.
Compared to only Alabama, Birmingham has a cost of living index that's 1.0x lower than Alabama's index of 90.
The standard of living in Birmingham ranks as #1,101 most affordable out of the 6,418 places we measured in Alabama. By definition, that implies Birmingham ranks as the #5,317 most expensive place in the Heart of Dixie.
Living Expense | Birmingham | Alabama | National Average | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | 87 | 90 | 100 | |
Services | 102 | 98 | 100 | |
Groceries | 94 | 98 | 100 | |
Health | 93 | 92 | 100 | |
Housing | 56 | 73 | 100 | |
Transportation | 96 | 91 | 100 | |
Utilities | 101 | 103 | 100 |
Housing swings affordability the most between places in Alabama, so we broke down the statistics around housing costs into more detail. It's also important to consider median household incomes to make apples-to-apples comparisons across locations.
Home and income come data comes from the most recent US Census ACS 2014-2018.
Statistic | Birmingham | Alabama | United States |
---|---|---|---|
Median Home Value | $97,500 | $149,600 | $229,800 |
Median Rent | $870 | $811 | $1,096 |
Median Income | $38,832 | $52,035 | $64,994 |
Home Value To Income | 2.5x | 2.9x | 3.5x |
Rent To Monthly Income | 0.27x | 0.19x | 0.2x |
Item | Birmingham | Alabama |
---|---|---|
Shampoo | $0.88 | $1.06 |
Movie | $12.74 | $10.68 |
Bowling | $15.0 | $14.67 |
Item | Birmingham | Alabama |
---|---|---|
Ground Beef | $4.35 | $4.22 |
Fried Chicken | $1.38 | $1.39 |
Milk | $1.92 | $2.05 |
Item | Birmingham | Alabama |
---|---|---|
Haircut | $16.76 | $18.62 |
Beauty Salon | $33.83 | $39.05 |
Toothpaste | $1.8 | $2.34 |
Item | Birmingham | Alabama |
---|---|---|
Potatoes | $3.0 | $3.29 |
Pizza | $9.76 | $10.62 |
Beer | $9.12 | $9.38 |
Optometrist | $95.8 | $108.57 |
Doctor | $77.78 | $116.17 |
Dentist | $106.79 | $99.13 |
Item | Birmingham | Alabama |
---|---|---|
Gasoline | $2.03 | $2.22 |
Tire Balancing | $50.9 | $50.07 |
All Electricity | $172.23 | $167.67 |
Phone | $181.81 | $175.64 |
City | Population | Cost Of Living | Vs. Birmingham |
---|---|---|---|
Vestavia Hills, AL | 34,482 | 117 | 1.3x |
Bessemer, AL | 26,063 | 84 | 1.0x |
Homewood, AL | 25,170 | 112 | 1.3x |
Pelham, AL | 23,707 | 99 | 1.1x |
Trussville, AL | 22,590 | 106 | 1.2x |
Mountain Brook, AL | 20,178 | 145 | 1.7x |
Center Point, AL | 15,971 | 90 | 1.0x |
Hueytown, AL | 15,446 | 91 | 1.0x |
Chelsea, AL | 13,599 | 107 | 1.2x |
Irondale, AL | 13,068 | 91 | 1.0x |