Birmingham, AL → Atlanta, GA
You'd keep $148 more a month in Atlanta
+$1,776 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 839 households moved Birmingham → Atlanta (avg AGI $69,387). 660 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Birmingham | Atlanta | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,167 | $7,868 | +$701 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,840 | $1,990 | +$150 |
| Take-home pay | $5,326 | $5,877 | +$551 |
| Rent | $1,125 | $1,399 | +$274 |
| Getting around | $553 | $580 | +$27 |
| Groceries | $364 | $392 | +$28 |
| Healthcare | $410 | $441 | +$31 |
| Utilities | $228 | $245 | +$17 |
| Everything else | $319 | $343 | +$24 |
| Left over | $2,329 | $2,477 | +$148 |
To break even in Atlanta, you'd need to earn
$91,500
Household gross, versus $86,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Birmingham does now.
The tax difference alone
+$693
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.7% in Birmingham, 25.3% in Atlanta.
More about Atlanta
Birmingham, AL in full
The lowest property tax rate in the country, on cheap houses.
Atlanta, GA in full
Big-city pay at mid-market housing costs, with a 31-minute average commute.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Atlanta on Atlanta wages.
Atlanta → Birmingham →Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.