Moving to Alabama from Texas
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Texas to Alabama — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Texas to Alabama, you would find that Alabama is 5.6% cheaper than Texas. A $75,000 salary in Texas would need to be roughly $70,800 in Alabama to maintain the same lifestyle. Houston and Huntsville are about 620 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to Alabama? Get a shortlist of towns in Alabama that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is Alabama cheaper than Texas?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 1.2% less
Groceries
pay 0.1% less
Transportation
pay 4.8% less
Housing
pay 11.9% less
Childcare
pay 4.3% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.5% more
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 Alabama?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $70,800
To maintain the same standard of living in Alabama
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%).
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Texas and Alabama stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Texas generally does better on safety, though Alabama leads in property 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
Texas generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Alabama leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Alabama performs significantly better than Texas across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Texas generally does better on infrastructure, though Alabama leads in average commute.
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
Texas 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
Texas performs 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 Alabama vs Texas
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Houston | Huntsville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 67°/48°F (20°/9°C) | 57°/36°F (14°/2°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 86°/67°F (30°/19°C) | 81°/59°F (27°/15°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 93°/73°F (34°/23°C) | 89°/67°F (32°/20°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 73°/53°F (23°/11°C) | 64°/42°F (18°/6°C) |
View all months
| Month | Houston | Huntsville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 63°/43°F (17.2°/6.2°C) | 51°/32°F (10.7°/-0.1°C) |
| Feb | 66°/47°F (19.1°/8.1°C) | 56°/35°F (13.3°/1.9°C) |
| Mar | 73°/53°F (22.8°/11.4°C) | 65°/42°F (18.3°/5.7°C) |
| Apr | 80°/59°F (26.4°/15.2°C) | 74°/50°F (23.1°/10.0°C) |
| May | 86°/68°F (30.2°/19.8°C) | 81°/59°F (27.4°/15.2°C) |
| Jun | 91°/73°F (33.0°/22.9°C) | 88°/67°F (31.2°/19.5°C) |
| Jul | 94°/75°F (34.3°/23.9°C) | 91°/70°F (32.6°/21.3°C) |
| Aug | 94°/75°F (34.7°/23.8°C) | 91°/69°F (32.7°/20.8°C) |
| Sep | 90°/70°F (32.1°/21.0°C) | 85°/62°F (29.4°/16.9°C) |
| Oct | 82°/61°F (27.8°/16.1°C) | 75°/51°F (23.7°/10.6°C) |
| Nov | 72°/52°F (22.5°/11.2°C) | 64°/42°F (17.6°/5.4°C) |
| Dec | 64°/45°F (17.9°/7.0°C) | 53°/34°F (11.9°/1.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Alabama than Texas?
Generally yes: Alabama runs about 6% cheaper than Texas on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Alabama?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $17,700 in Alabama for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Alabama safe?
Texas generally does better on safety, though Alabama leads in property crime rate.
How is healthcare in Alabama compared to Texas?
Texas generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Alabama leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Alabama compared to Texas?
The average high temperature in Huntsville is 73°F, compared to 80°F in Houston. Huntsville receives around 54.3 in of rainfall per year, while Houston gets 49.8 in.
