Compare / Birmingham to Charleston
Birmingham, AL vs Charleston, SC
Simple answer
You'd likely save $509 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 47.9 points (Birmingham 71.9, Charleston 119.8).
Alabama taxes wages at rates up to 5.00%. South Carolina taxes wages at rates up to 6.00%. Combined sales tax differs by 2.0 percentage points, higher in Alabama. The effective property tax gap is 0.06 percentage points, higher in South Carolina.
After a move from Alabama to South Carolina, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.
A $75,000 salary in Birmingham lines up with about $82,626 in Charleston on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
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
Charleston
Charleston-North Charleston, SC
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,884
- HUD area
- Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA
- Census median gross rent
- $1,714
- All-items price parity
- 101.0
- Goods price parity
- 96.3
- Utilities price parity
- 88.2
- Mean commute
- 29.4 min
- Median household income
- $90,307
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.
$82,626
Salary in Charleston that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$83,871
Gross salary in Charleston whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$102,764
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 | Alabama | South Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | up to 5.00% | up to 6.00% |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 9.5% | 7.5% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 0.38% | 0.45% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $1,526 a year in Alabama and $1,786 in South Carolina. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in South Carolina
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Alabama and once in South Carolina. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
BirminghamLikely eligible
CharlestonLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
BirminghamLikely eligible
CharlestonLikely eligible
WIC
BirminghamLikely eligible
CharlestonLikely eligible
School meals
BirminghamLikely eligible
CharlestonLikely eligible
LIHEAP
BirminghamMaybe
CharlestonMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
BirminghamLikely eligible
CharlestonLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
BirminghamLikely eligible
CharlestonLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
BirminghamLikely eligible
CharlestonLikely eligible
Lifeline phone and internet
BirminghamLikely eligible
CharlestonLikely eligible
SSI
BirminghamUnlikely
CharlestonUnlikely
| Program | Birmingham | Charleston |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.
Related comparisons
From Birmingham
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Birmingham.
- Birmingham and San Francisco · rent gap $2,322
- Birmingham and San Jose · rent gap $1,897
- Birmingham and Boston · rent gap $1,633
- Birmingham and New York · rent gap $1,596
- Birmingham and Los Angeles · rent gap $1,589
- Birmingham and San Diego · rent gap $1,448
- Birmingham and Miami · rent gap $1,189
- Birmingham and Seattle · rent gap $1,174
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.