Is Alabama a Good Deal or a Trade-off?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#41

41st out of 50 states overall.

Among the weaker states for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#4

4th cheapest state, about 20% below average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $60,200 here.

How we measure cost ›

Alabama ranks 41st of 50 states for overall quality of life and 4th for affordability. It does best on cost, climate, and economy, and struggles most with education, safety, and dog friendly. A typical household earns about $60,200 a year, and the cost of living runs about 20% below average.

Why Alabama ranks #41 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Alabama scores on each, best to worst.

Cost of living
#4 of 50
Climate
#23 of 50
Economy
#37 of 50
Green space
#38 of 50
Air quality
#40 of 50
Walkability
#40 of 50
Healthcare
#42 of 50
Education
#42 of 50
Safety
#42 of 50
Dog friendly
#46 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Alabama at a glance

Typical household income

$60,200

45th highest

Typical home price

$233,000

47th highest

Overall cost of living

20% below average

4th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 6%

21st highest income tax

Typical commute

About 25 min

one way

Taxes in Alabama

See your real Alabama take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Alabama taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.