Tuscaloosa vs Huntsville leftover
You'd keep $797 more a month in Huntsville
$2,808/mo leftover in Huntsville vs $2,011 in Tuscaloosa after tax and rent ($797 more). +$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.
Tuscaloosa leftover
$2,011
a month after tax and rent
Huntsville leftover
$2,808
+$797 vs Tuscaloosa
Compare Tuscaloosa to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Tuscaloosa.
Monthly gap
Tuscaloosa → Huntsville
$797
more / month in Huntsville
$2,808 in Huntsville · $2,011 in Tuscaloosa · 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, 167 households moved Tuscaloosa → Huntsville (avg AGI $54,952). 58 went the other way. The whole move →
+$797 / mo
| Per month | Tuscaloosa | Huntsville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,500 | $7,707 | +$1,207 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,603 | $1,956 | +$353 |
| Take-home pay | $4,897 | $5,751 | +$854 |
| Rent | $930 | $1,050 | +$120 |
| Getting around | $591 | $559 | −$32 |
| Groceries | $376 | $368 | −$8 |
| Healthcare | $423 | $414 | −$9 |
| Utilities | $235 | $230 | −$5 |
| Everything else | $329 | $322 | −$7 |
| Left over | $2,011 | $2,808 | +$797 |
To break even in Huntsville, you'd need to earn
$78,000
Household gross, versus $78,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Tuscaloosa does now.
The tax difference alone
+$56
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.7% in Tuscaloosa, 25.4% in Huntsville.
More about Huntsville
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.
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 → Tuscaloosa →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Huntsville than Tuscaloosa?
A one-bedroom is about $930 in Tuscaloosa versus $1,050 in Huntsville. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $797 a month higher in Huntsville. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Huntsville have state income tax?
Huntsville is in Alabama, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Tuscaloosa to Huntsville?
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 Tuscaloosa and Huntsville 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.