Birmingham, AL → Huntsville, AL
You'd keep $486 more a month in Huntsville
+$5,832 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 792 households moved Birmingham → Huntsville (avg AGI $72,122). 584 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Birmingham | Huntsville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,167 | $7,712 | +$545 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,840 | $1,958 | +$117 |
| Take-home pay | $5,326 | $5,754 | +$428 |
| Rent | $1,125 | $1,046 | −$79 |
| Getting around | $553 | $559 | +$6 |
| Groceries | $364 | $368 | +$4 |
| Healthcare | $410 | $414 | +$4 |
| Utilities | $228 | $230 | +$2 |
| Everything else | $319 | $322 | +$3 |
| Left over | $2,329 | $2,815 | +$486 |
To break even in Huntsville, you'd need to earn
$83,500
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
+$533
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.7% in Birmingham, 25.4% in Huntsville.
More about Huntsville
Birmingham, AL in full
The lowest property tax rate in the country, on cheap houses.
Huntsville, AL in full
Aerospace and defense engineering salaries against Alabama's cost of living.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Huntsville on Huntsville wages.
Huntsville → 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.