Cost of Living: Birmingham, AL vs New York, NY

Quick rent-and-take-home comparison

Using a baseline of $70,000/yr gross, take-home is about $4,224/mo in Birmingham, AL versus $4,116/mo in New York, NY. In the model, rent is about 21.03% of gross in Birmingham, AL versus 25.92% in New York, NY, so Birmingham, AL tends to feel more affordable for rent.

Take-home in Birmingham, AL
$4,224/mo
Income level: below
Take-home in New York, NY
$4,116/mo
Income level: below
Rent share (1BR) in Birmingham, AL
21.03%
COLI tier: lower-cost
Rent share (1BR) in New York, NY
25.92%
COLI tier: very high-cost

Compare cost of living, rent, housing prices, and salary affordability between Birmingham, AL and New York, NY.

At a glance

  • Cheaper overall (lower cost-of-living index): Birmingham, AL
  • Lower rent (median 1BR/2BR): Birmingham, AL
  • Lower home prices: New York, NY
  • Higher median household income: Birmingham, AL

Cost of Living Index

Birmingham, AL: 84.6 (U.S. = 100) · New York, NY: 168.2 (U.S. = 100)

Birmingham, AL has a lower cost-of-living index than New York, NY, so a given salary generally stretches further there.

Median Rent

Birmingham, AL: $1,372/mo (midpoint of 1BR/2BR) · New York, NY: $1,690/mo

Median rent in New York, NY is $318/mo higher than in Birmingham, AL.

Median Home Price

Birmingham, AL: $891,300 · New York, NY: $751,700

Median home price in Birmingham, AL is $139,600 higher than in New York, NY.

Median Household Income

Birmingham, AL: $191,128 · New York, NY: $79,713

Birmingham, AL has a higher median household income than New York, NY by $111,415.

Birmingham, AL overview · New York, NY overview · Popular comparisons