Route comparison
New Orleans, LA vs Birmingham, AL: Cost of Living
Compare New Orleans, LA and Birmingham, AL using historical BEA 2024 price indexes and HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR benchmarks. Add your own salary, lease and moving quote to a budget summary.
New Orleans, LA
LA
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 92.597
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 86.009
- 2024 goods RPP
- 93.691
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $1,480/mo
City name is shorthand for an area benchmark. This September 2026 review did not recheck this area's full BEA/HUD geographic mapping.
Income tax and payroll deductions are not calculated. Confirm take-home pay for your work and home addresses separately.
Birmingham, AL
AL
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 91.644
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 71.851
- 2024 goods RPP
- 96.397
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $1,375/mo
City name is shorthand for an area benchmark. This September 2026 review did not recheck this area's full BEA/HUD geographic mapping.
Income tax and payroll deductions are not calculated. Confirm take-home pay for your work and home addresses separately.
Historical RPP salary illustration
In the BEA 2024 benchmark, Birmingham, AL has a lower overall price level than New Orleans, LA by about 1.0% (RPP 92.597 to 91.644).
$60,000 in New Orleans, LA
-> $59,382
in Birmingham, AL
$100,000 in New Orleans, LA
-> $98,971
in Birmingham, AL
$150,000 in New Orleans, LA
-> $148,456
in Birmingham, AL
Salary illustrations use BEA 2024 overall Regional Price Parities (RPP) only, before tax and household-specific adjustments. Overall RPP already includes housing. HUD FY2027 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent is a separate historical gross-rent benchmark, not a current lease or median rent. Do not add rent to the RPP salary figure. Your lease and moving quote belong in a separate budget. Not financial advice.
Step 2: what will the move itself cost?
Put your actual lease, deposit, overlap rent and mover quote beside the historical salary illustration. Leave amounts you do not yet know blank.
Migration signal: New Orleans, LA vs Birmingham, AL
IRS tax-return migration · 2022-2023New Orleans, LA
- Net people
- −7,620
- Net rank
- #55 of 65
- Top origin share
- 19%
- Top destination share
- 24%
Largest source: St. Tammany Parish, LA. Largest destination: St. Tammany Parish, LA.
Birmingham, AL
- Net people
- −399
- Net rank
- #36 of 65
- Top origin share
- 13%
- Top destination share
- 10%
Largest source: Tuscaloosa County, AL. Largest destination: Tuscaloosa County, AL.
Rent delta: Birmingham, AL is $105/mo lower for HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR than New Orleans, LA. Housing RPP moves from 86.009 to 71.851.
Migration figures are derived from IRS SOI county-to-county migration data for 2022-2023, mapped to metros via Census CBSA delineation. Small county-to-county flows are IRS-suppressed, so per-metro totals are lower bounds. Source: IRS SOI migration data.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Birmingham, AL cheaper or more expensive than New Orleans, LA?
- In the BEA 2024 benchmark, Birmingham, AL (RPP 91.644) has an overall price level about 1.0% lower than New Orleans, LA (RPP 92.597). This does not measure your current household costs.
- What salary do I need in Birmingham, AL if I earn $100,000 in New Orleans, LA?
- The historical RPP illustration is approximately $98,971 in Birmingham, AL, using $100,000 x (91.644 / 92.597). It uses BEA 2024 overall price indexes before tax and household adjustments; HUD rent is not added to this figure.
- Which metro had stronger net migration, New Orleans, LA or Birmingham, AL?
- For 2022-2023, New Orleans, LA had a net loss of 7,620 people, while Birmingham, AL had a net loss of 399 people. IRS small-flow suppression means these are lower-bound research signals, not complete population-change totals.