Huntsville vs Decatur leftover
Moving to Decatur costs you $493 a month
$2,316/mo leftover in Decatur vs $2,809 in Huntsville after tax and rent ($493 less). −$5,916 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Huntsville leftover
$2,809
a month after tax and rent
Decatur leftover
$2,316
−$493 vs Huntsville
Compare Huntsville to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Huntsville.
Monthly gap
Huntsville → Decatur
$493
less / month in Huntsville
$2,316 in Decatur · $2,809 in Huntsville · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 847 households moved Huntsville → Decatur (avg AGI $66,117). 861 went the other way. The whole move →
−$493 / mo
| Per month | Huntsville | Decatur | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,708 | $6,727 | −$981 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,956 | $1,684 | −$273 |
| Take-home pay | $5,752 | $5,044 | −$708 |
| Rent | $1,050 | $772 | −$278 |
| Getting around | $559 | $591 | +$32 |
| Groceries | $368 | $376 | +$8 |
| Healthcare | $414 | $423 | +$9 |
| Utilities | $230 | $235 | +$5 |
| Everything else | $322 | $329 | +$7 |
| Left over | $2,809 | $2,316 | −$493 |
To break even in Decatur, you'd need to earn
$90,000
Household gross, versus $92,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Huntsville does now.
The tax difference alone
−$219
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.4% in Huntsville, 25.0% in Decatur.
More about Decatur
Huntsville, AL in full
Aerospace and defense engineering salaries against Alabama's cost of living.
Decatur, AL in full
State income tax topping out at 5%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $919 and 216 sunny days; commutes average 25 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Decatur on Decatur wages.
Decatur → Huntsville →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Decatur than Huntsville?
A one-bedroom is about $1,050 in Huntsville versus $772 in Decatur. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $493 a month lower in Decatur. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Decatur have state income tax?
Decatur is in Alabama, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 1.00%.
What changes if you move from Huntsville to Decatur?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Alabama tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Huntsville and Decatur moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
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.