Huntsville vs Tuscaloosa leftover
Moving to Tuscaloosa costs you $797 a month
$2,012/mo leftover in Tuscaloosa vs $2,809 in Huntsville after tax and rent ($797 less). −$9,564 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
Tuscaloosa leftover
$2,012
−$797 vs Huntsville
Compare Huntsville to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Huntsville.
Monthly gap
Huntsville → Tuscaloosa
$797
less / month in Huntsville
$2,012 in Tuscaloosa · $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, 58 households moved Huntsville → Tuscaloosa (avg AGI $47,603). 167 went the other way. The whole move →
−$797 / mo
| Per month | Huntsville | Tuscaloosa | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,708 | $6,502 | −$1,207 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,956 | $1,603 | −$353 |
| Take-home pay | $5,752 | $4,898 | −$854 |
| Rent | $1,050 | $930 | −$120 |
| 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 | $2,012 | −$797 |
To break even in Tuscaloosa, you'd need to earn
$93,000
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
−$56
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.4% in Huntsville, 24.7% in Tuscaloosa.
More about Tuscaloosa
Huntsville, AL in full
Aerospace and defense engineering salaries against Alabama's cost of living.
Tuscaloosa, AL in full
State income tax topping out at 5%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,107 and 223 sunny days; commutes average 24 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Tuscaloosa on Tuscaloosa wages.
Tuscaloosa → Huntsville →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Tuscaloosa than Huntsville?
A one-bedroom is about $1,050 in Huntsville versus $930 in Tuscaloosa. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $797 a month lower in Tuscaloosa. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Tuscaloosa have state income tax?
Tuscaloosa is in Alabama, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 1.00%.
What changes if you move from Huntsville to Tuscaloosa?
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 Tuscaloosa 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.