Cost of living in Birmingham, Alabama
Simple answer
Typical rent is $1,107 a month.
Birmingham is a city in Alabama. That rent number includes utilities. A typical household earns $46,051 a year.
- People
- 198,173
- Census average, 2020–2024
- Typical rent
- $1,107
- Median gross rent, includes utilities
- Typical pay
- $46,051
- Median household income, yearly
- Typical home
- $158,800
- Median home value
- 2-bedroom fair rent
- $1,375
- Birmingham-Hoover, AL HUD Metro FMR Area
Birmingham, Alabama has about 198,173 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.
A typical home is worth about $158,800.
HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Jefferson County is $1,375 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Birmingham. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.
In the Birmingham, AL metro area, prices sit at 91.6 when the U.S. average is 100. That is a 2024 BEA index.
Alabama taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 9.5% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Birmingham's exact store tax.
Some places in Alabama add a local wage tax. In 2023 the state average was about 0.07% of income. That is not a Birmingham bill.
In July 2026, a typical Alabama home paid 16.40¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Birmingham's bill.
EIA did not publish a 2025 all-grades gas price for Alabama in the table we use.
Among 290 places we list in Alabama with a rent figure, 65 have higher typical rent than Birmingham.
Nearby places
- Mountain Brook
Typical rent $1,456
Compare with Birmingham - Homewood
Typical rent $1,463
Compare with Birmingham - Tarrant
Typical rent $985
Compare with Birmingham - Vestavia Hills
Typical rent $1,515
Compare with Birmingham - Fultondale
Typical rent $1,269
Compare with Birmingham - Forestdale
Typical rent $1,203
Compare with Birmingham - Fairfield
Typical rent $1,008
Compare with Birmingham - Irondale
Typical rent $1,320
Compare with Birmingham
EBT nearby
USDA has a live map of stores that take SNAP. We did not copy that store list here. The downloadable file is a history file for 2005 through 2025, so the live map is the one to use.
Locator page updated 2026-09-11. Last checked 2026-10-16.
Food stamps (SNAP) tools in Alabama
Bigger places in Alabama
Census 2020-2024. HUD rents for October 2026–September 2027. BEA prices for 2024. Taxes as of January 1, 2026. Checked 2026-10-16. 15,000 places are in this guide.