Huntsville, Alabama Cost Of Living

A-

5%

Overall NAT. AVG.

0%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

12%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2023; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Huntsville	Alabama	National
Cost of living	95	88	100
Goods & Services	100	95	100
Groceries	98	97	100
Health care	94	89	100
Housing	88	72	100
Transportation	91	90	100
Utilities	98	101	100

New Real Estate Listings in Huntsville Area

For Sale For Rent

Search

Search Homes for Sale in Huntsville, AL

See How Much House You Can Afford. Get Pre-Approved Today

Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Huntsville is 8% higher than the Alabama average
The cost of living in Huntsville is 5% lower than the national average
Huntsville housing is 12% lower than the national average
Alabama general sales tax is 22% lower than the national average
Alabama state income tax is 11% lower than the national average

Most Affordable Places to Live in and Around Huntsville

See all the best places to live around Huntsville

Compare Huntsville, AL Cost of Living

Write a review to give others more information about this area.

See all Huntsville poll results

The best places in Alabama

Here are the best places to live in Alabama

10 Best cities in Alabama for employment

See the best places to live in & around Huntsville

Top 10 cities in Alabama with the best education system

Salary Calculator

This is how much you would need to earn in

Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$84,476	$7,040	$1,971	$2,535
Renters	$33,393	$2,783	$779	$1,002

The affordability of the housing market in Huntsville, AL as well as the overall cost of living can be predicted by what percent of the monthly income is spent on housing related costs. This is konwn as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The overall rule of thumb is that no more than 28% of your gross income should be spent on the overall costs related to housing and no more than 36% of gross income on all expenses and debts. Among Huntsville homeowners, the median income is $84,476. This indicates that a monthly maximum of $1,971 should be spent by homeowners on all housing related costs. Renters have a median income of $33,393. This indicates that renters would have a maximum of $779 for their rent related monthly costs.

Alabama Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Alabama	4%	13.5%

Alabama Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Alabama	2%	5%

Goods & Services

Item	Huntsville	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$21.42	$22.08	3.0%
Beauty Salon	$49.33	$42.88	15.1%
Toothpaste	$2.53	$2.57	1.2%
Shampoo	$1.01	$1.15	12.7%
Movie	$13.01	$11.51	13.1%
Bowling	$20.33	$16.62	22.4%

Groceries

Item	Huntsville	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.16	$4.98	3.6%
Fried Chicken	$1.54	$1.58	2.8%
Milk	$2.22	$2.42	8.2%
Potatoes	$3.40	$3.54	3.8%
Pizza	$10.87	$11.49	5.4%
Beer	$10.25	$10.04	2.0%

Health Care

Item	Huntsville	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$88.78	$117.76	24.6%
Doctor	$124.50	$125.34	0.7%
Dentist	$99.17	$107.52	7.8%
Ibuprofen	$9.51	$10.26	7.3%
Lipitor	$432.83	$459.24	5.7%

Housing

Item	Huntsville	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$184,500.00	$184,700.00	0.1%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,321.71	$1,697.41	22.1%
Apartment Rent	$868.00	$949.00	8.5%

Transportation

Item	Huntsville	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.55	$3.85	7.6%
Tire Balancing	$51.22	$57.01	10.2%

Utilities

Item	Huntsville	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$173.74	$177.27	2.0%
Phone	$186.08	$189.62	1.9%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Paint Rock, AL	171	82	17.7%
Gurley, AL	574	85	14.7%
New Hope, AL	2,881	89	11.0%
New Market, AL	1,115	90	10.4%
Hazel Green, AL	3,629	90	9.8%
Huntsville, AL	199,845	95	5.2%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Huntington Beach, CA	199,778	172	72.3%
Salt Lake City, UT	200,133	108	8.3%
Yonkers, NY	200,183	137	37.5%
Grand Rapids, MI	199,417	90	10.2%
Glendale, CA	199,357	167	66.9%
Huntsville, AL	199,845	95	5.2%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2023; this is the most current data available.