Moving to Ohio from Alabama
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Alabama to Ohio — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Alabama to Ohio, you would find that Ohio is 1.1% cheaper than Alabama. A $75,000 salary in Alabama would need to be roughly $74,200 in Ohio to maintain the same lifestyle. Huntsville and Columbus are about 410 mi apart.
Is Ohio cheaper than Alabama?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 7.6% less
Groceries
pay 0.4% more
Transportation
pay 12.7% more
Housing
pay 3.5% less
Childcare
pay 0.2% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.9% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Ohio?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $74,200
To maintain the same standard of living in Ohio
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Ohio cost about 10% less than cities in Alabama.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Alabama to Ohio.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Alabama generally does better on safety, though Ohio leads in violent crime rate.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Ohio generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Alabama leads in adult smoking rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Alabama performs better than Ohio across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Ohio performs significantly better than Alabama across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Ohio generally does better on employment & economy, though Alabama leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Ohio performs significantly better than Alabama across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Ohio vs Alabama
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Huntsville | Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 57°/36°F (14°/2°C) | 63°/41°F (17°/5°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 81°/59°F (27°/15°C) | 84°/62°F (29°/16°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/67°F (32°/20°C) | 90°/71°F (32°/21°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 64°/42°F (18°/6°C) | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) |
View all months
| Month | Huntsville | Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51°/32°F (10.7°/-0.1°C) | 58°/37°F (14.2°/2.7°C) |
| Feb | 56°/35°F (13.3°/1.9°C) | 62°/40°F (16.7°/4.5°C) |
| Mar | 65°/42°F (18.3°/5.7°C) | 69°/46°F (20.8°/7.8°C) |
| Apr | 74°/50°F (23.1°/10.0°C) | 77°/53°F (24.8°/11.4°C) |
| May | 81°/59°F (27.4°/15.2°C) | 84°/62°F (28.9°/16.6°C) |
| Jun | 88°/67°F (31.2°/19.5°C) | 90°/70°F (32.2°/20.9°C) |
| Jul | 91°/70°F (32.6°/21.3°C) | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) |
| Aug | 91°/69°F (32.7°/20.8°C) | 91°/72°F (33.0°/22.4°C) |
| Sep | 85°/62°F (29.4°/16.9°C) | 86°/67°F (30.2°/19.3°C) |
| Oct | 75°/51°F (23.7°/10.6°C) | 77°/56°F (25.2°/13.1°C) |
| Nov | 64°/42°F (17.6°/5.4°C) | 68°/46°F (20.2°/7.8°C) |
| Dec | 53°/34°F (11.9°/1.3°C) | 59°/39°F (15.2°/3.8°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Ohio than Alabama?
Costs in Ohio and Alabama are broadly similar overall, though categories like rent and dining differ between cities.
How much money do I need to move to Ohio?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $18,550 in Ohio on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Ohio safe?
Alabama generally does better on safety, though Ohio leads in violent crime rate.
How is healthcare in Ohio compared to Alabama?
Ohio generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Alabama leads in adult smoking rate.
What's the weather like in Ohio compared to Alabama?
The average high temperature in Columbus is 76°F, compared to 73°F in Huntsville. Columbus receives around 46.8 in of rainfall per year, while Huntsville gets 54.3 in.
