Compare / Allentown to Birmingham
Allentown, PA vs Birmingham, AL
Simple answer
You'd likely save $464 a month in Birmingham.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is housing prices. The BEA housing price parity differs by 33.7 points (Allentown 105.5, Birmingham 71.9).
Pennsylvania taxes wages at a flat 3.07%. Alabama taxes wages at rates up to 5.00%. Combined sales tax differs by 3.1 percentage points, higher in Alabama. The effective property tax gap is 0.78 percentage points, higher in Pennsylvania.
After a move from Pennsylvania to Alabama, these benefit results change for a family of four at $40,000 and a single adult at $18,000: Marketplace premium tax credits, Medicaid and CHIP.
A $75,000 salary in Allentown lines up with about $68,755 in Birmingham on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
Allentown
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,839
- HUD area
- Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,458
- All-items price parity
- 100.0
- Goods price parity
- 100.6
- Utilities price parity
- 107.6
- Mean commute
- 28.2 min
- Median household income
- $83,974
Birmingham
Birmingham, AL
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,375
- HUD area
- Birmingham-Hoover, AL HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,262
- All-items price parity
- 91.6
- Goods price parity
- 96.4
- Utilities price parity
- 83.8
- Mean commute
- 27.3 min
- Median household income
- $74,954
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$68,755
Salary in Birmingham that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$68,287
Gross salary in Birmingham whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$56,077
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | Pennsylvania | Alabama |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | 3.07% flat | up to 5.00% |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 6.3% | 9.5% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 1.16% | 0.38% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $4,631 a year in Pennsylvania and $1,526 in Alabama. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in Alabama
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Pennsylvania and once in Alabama. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
AllentownLikely eligible
BirminghamLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
AllentownLikely eligible
BirminghamLikely eligible
WIC
AllentownLikely eligible
BirminghamLikely eligible
School meals
AllentownLikely eligible
BirminghamLikely eligible
LIHEAP
AllentownMaybe
BirminghamMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
AllentownLikely eligible
BirminghamLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
AllentownLikely eligible
BirminghamLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
AllentownUnlikely
BirminghamLikely eligible
Lifeline phone and internet
AllentownLikely eligible
BirminghamLikely eligible
SSI
AllentownUnlikely
BirminghamUnlikely
| Program | Allentown | Birmingham |
|---|---|---|
| Food stamps (SNAP) | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Unlikely | Likely eligible |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
Marketplace premium tax credits changes. In Allentown the result is “Unlikely — Medicaid is the closer program.” In Birmingham it is “Likely inside the 2026 subsidy range.” Pennsylvania expanded Medicaid, and this income is in the Medicaid range. Marketplace subsidies are usually not the program in that case.
Related comparisons
From Allentown
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Allentown.
- Allentown and San Francisco · rent gap $1,858
- Allentown and San Jose · rent gap $1,433
- Allentown and Boston · rent gap $1,169
- Allentown and New York · rent gap $1,132
- Allentown and Los Angeles · rent gap $1,125
- Allentown and San Diego · rent gap $984
- Allentown and McAllen · rent gap $822
- Allentown and Wichita · rent gap $796
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.