Dallas vs. Tuscaloosa Cost of Living Summary

Dallas is 18.3% more expensive than Tuscaloosa.

Restaurants
pay 27.8% more in Dallas
Groceries
pay 17.2% less in Dallas
Transportation
pay 1.0% more in Dallas
Housing
pay 39.3% more in Dallas
Childcare
pay 37.0% more in Dallas
Entertainment and Sports
pay 10.8% more in Dallas
Clothing
pay 77.1% more in Dallas

The cost of clothing, housing, childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Dallas are more expensive than in Tuscaloosa. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Dallas.

Dallas vs. Tuscaloosa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Dallas instead of Tuscaloosa, you would:

pay 27.8% more for restaurants

 
Tuscaloosa
Dallas
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.50
 
$21.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.00
 
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.38
 
$3.17
 

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pay 17.2% less for groceries

 
Tuscaloosa
Dallas
Bread
1 loaf
$3.67
 
$3.17
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.24
 
$6.56
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.15
 
$3.82
 

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pay 1.0% more for transportation

 
Tuscaloosa
Dallas
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.43
 
$3.80
 
Monthly public transit pass ?? $126.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $37,359.00
 
$36,232.00
 

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pay 39.3% more for housing

 
Tuscaloosa
Dallas
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$61.67
 
$65.42
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,227.67
 
$1,782.73
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $969.80
 
$1,400.42
 

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pay 37.0% more for childcare

 
Tuscaloosa
Dallas
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,083.33
 
$2,084.15
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $25,000.00
 
$24,380.00
 

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pay 10.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Tuscaloosa
Dallas
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.00
 
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.40
 
$6.19
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$8.44
 
$10.00
 

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pay 77.1% more for clothing

 
Tuscaloosa
Dallas
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$41.67
 
$65.50
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$31.50
 
$48.56
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$55.67
 
$122.20
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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