Birmingham, Alabama
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Birmingham.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Birmingham compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 199,322City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $44,376Incorporated place (ACS)43% below U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 62ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)38% below U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $138,600City limits (ACS)54% below U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,047City limits (ACS)22% below U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 3.4%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 23 min8% below U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 3522% below U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- UnavailableFBI CDE gap
- Property crime rate
- UnavailableFBI CDE gap
- Summer high
- 90°F3.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 37°F3.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 56.6 in72% above U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 2477% below U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Birmingham with another city
About 199,322 people live in Birmingham, AL. Median household income is roughly $44,376, while the ACS housing-cost index sits near 62 — among the more affordable large markets in this catalog on housing costs (100 ≈ U.S. average). Entry home prices around $138,600 still look attainable compared with coastal metros.
Birmingham is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Birmingham with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Gulf Coast humidity and inland pine hills shape day-to-day living here. With about 56.6 inches of rain a year, wet-season drainage and mold checks are worth asking about. Plan on roughly 23 minutes each way for a typical commute; Walk Score is about 35. Unemployment recently ran near 3.4%, broadly in line with many large U.S. counties. Official FBI agency crime rates were not published for this place in the latest pull, so treat safety as a neighborhood-level research task.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (Birmingham city, 1600000US0107000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN010730000000003 (Jefferson County, May 2026)
- Crime: data unavailable
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00013876 BIRMINGHAM AP)
Last updated 2026-07-28