Compare / Birmingham to Chicago
Birmingham, AL vs Chicago, IL
Simple answer
You'd likely save $636 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 40.2 points (Birmingham 71.9, Chicago 112.0).
Alabama taxes wages at rates up to 5.00%. Illinois taxes wages at a flat 4.95%. Combined sales tax differs by 0.5 percentage points, higher in Alabama. The effective property tax gap is 1.54 percentage points, higher in Illinois.
After a move from Alabama to Illinois, 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 Birmingham lines up with about $84,781 in Chicago 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
Chicago
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $2,011
- HUD area
- Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,469
- All-items price parity
- 103.6
- Goods price parity
- 107.3
- Utilities price parity
- 83.6
- Mean commute
- 30.9 min
- Median household income
- $90,770
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.
$84,781
Salary in Chicago that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$86,622
Gross salary in Chicago whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$109,691
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 | Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | up to 5.00% | 4.95% flat |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 9.5% | 9.0% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 0.38% | 1.92% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $1,526 a year in Alabama and $7,694 in Illinois. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in Illinois
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Alabama and once in Illinois. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
BirminghamLikely eligible
ChicagoLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
BirminghamLikely eligible
ChicagoLikely eligible
WIC
BirminghamLikely eligible
ChicagoLikely eligible
School meals
BirminghamLikely eligible
ChicagoLikely eligible
LIHEAP
BirminghamMaybe
ChicagoMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
BirminghamLikely eligible
ChicagoLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
BirminghamLikely eligible
ChicagoLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
BirminghamLikely eligible
ChicagoUnlikely
Lifeline phone and internet
BirminghamLikely eligible
ChicagoLikely eligible
SSI
BirminghamUnlikely
ChicagoUnlikely
| Program | Birmingham | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Unlikely |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
Marketplace premium tax credits changes. In Birmingham the result is “Likely inside the 2026 subsidy range.” In Chicago it is “Unlikely — Medicaid is the closer program.” Illinois expanded Medicaid, and this income is in the Medicaid range. Marketplace subsidies are usually not the program in that case.
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.