#54 of 66 for you
Birmingham, AL
The lowest property tax rate in the country, on cheap houses.
Left over monthly
$2,346
Versus Chicago
−$34/mo
−$408 a year
Local pay for your job
$86,305
Local wages run -8% vs national
Where the money goes
One earner filing as a household, at 1 bedrooms.
- Taxes$1,849
- Rent$1,125
- Other living costs$1,872
- Left over$2,346
Pay and tax, per year
- Gross household pay
- $86,305
- Federal income tax
- −$10,601
- Social Security and Medicare
- −$6,602
- State income tax (AL)
- −$4,125
- City / county wage tax
- −$863
- Take-home pay
- $64,113
- Effective tax rate
- 25.7%
Living costs, per month
- Rent, 1br
- $1,125
- Groceries
- $364
- Getting around
- $553
- Healthcare
- $410
- Utilities and internet
- $228
- Everything else
- $319
- Total spending
- $2,997
Left over each month
$7,192 gross, minus $1,849 in tax and $2,997 in living costs.
$2,346
What living here is like
- Weather
- 213 sunny days, 91°F in July, 33°F January nights
- Getting around
- Plan on a car per adult
- Average commute
- 25 minutes each way
- Size
- 1.2M people
- Buying instead
- Median home $226,200 — roughly $1,428/mo with 20% down, tax and upkeep
- Taxes
- Alabama income tax, plus a 1.00% city wage tax. Sales tax 9.3%, property tax 0.41%.
How it scores against what you said matters
- Money left over
- 54
- Sun and mild weather
- 70
- Access to the outdoors
- 60
- City life and culture
- 52
- A short commute
- 65
Chicago vs Birmingham, line by line
Same job, same household, both tax codes applied.
Open the comparison →Also worth a look
- Seattle, WA$3,406/mo
No state income tax and high wages, offset by home prices and 150 sunny days.
- Austin, TX$3,176/mo
No income tax, but property taxes are among the steepest anywhere.
- Houston, TX$3,159/mo
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
- Dallas, TX$3,044/mo
No income tax, endless new construction, and a 1.5% property tax bill.