Compare / Baltimore to Birmingham
Baltimore, MD vs Birmingham, AL
Simple answer
You'd likely save $631 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 46.3 points (Baltimore 118.2, Birmingham 71.9).
Maryland taxes wages at rates up to 6.50%. Alabama taxes wages at rates up to 5.00%. Combined sales tax differs by 3.5 percentage points, higher in Alabama. The effective property tax gap is 0.57 percentage points, higher in Maryland.
After a move from Maryland 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 Baltimore lines up with about $65,781 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.
Baltimore
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $2,006
- HUD area
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA
- Census median gross rent
- $1,633
- All-items price parity
- 104.5
- Goods price parity
- 102.4
- Utilities price parity
- 110.2
- Mean commute
- 30.3 min
- Median household income
- $98,666
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.
$65,781
Salary in Birmingham that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$62,689
Gross salary in Birmingham whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$51,408
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 | Maryland | Alabama |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | up to 6.50% | up to 5.00% |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 6.0% | 9.5% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 0.95% | 0.38% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $3,799 a year in Maryland 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 Maryland and once in Alabama. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
BaltimoreLikely eligible
BirminghamLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
BaltimoreLikely eligible
BirminghamLikely eligible
WIC
BaltimoreLikely eligible
BirminghamLikely eligible
School meals
BaltimoreLikely eligible
BirminghamLikely eligible
LIHEAP
BaltimoreMaybe
BirminghamMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
BaltimoreLikely eligible
BirminghamLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
BaltimoreLikely eligible
BirminghamLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
BaltimoreUnlikely
BirminghamLikely eligible
Lifeline phone and internet
BaltimoreLikely eligible
BirminghamLikely eligible
SSI
BaltimoreUnlikely
BirminghamUnlikely
| Program | Baltimore | 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 Baltimore the result is “Unlikely — Medicaid is the closer program.” In Birmingham it is “Likely inside the 2026 subsidy range.” Maryland expanded Medicaid, and this income is in the Medicaid range. Marketplace subsidies are usually not the program in that case.
Related comparisons
From Baltimore
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Baltimore.
- Baltimore and San Francisco · rent gap $1,691
- Baltimore and San Jose · rent gap $1,266
- Baltimore and Boston · rent gap $1,002
- Baltimore and McAllen · rent gap $989
- Baltimore and New York · rent gap $965
- Baltimore and Wichita · rent gap $963
- Baltimore and Los Angeles · rent gap $958
- Baltimore and Little Rock · rent gap $885
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.