Overall
- Birmingham
- 91.6
Diff -0.3 RPP
Augusta-Richmond County vs Birmingham
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Birmingham is 0.3% less expensive than Augusta-Richmond County.
0.3% less expensive
Birmingham, AL is 0.3% less expensive than Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.6 vs 91.9). A $100,000 salary in Augusta-Richmond County buys about the same as $99,718 in Birmingham; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 91.9 (Augusta-Richmond County) vs 91.6 (Birmingham)
- $100k in Augusta-Richmond County ≈ $99,718 purchasing power in Birmingham
- Services drives the gap (-5.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair GA:AL 91.9→91.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE GA × AL
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Augusta-Richmond County
91.9
Cost Index
Birmingham
91.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC and Birmingham, AL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Birmingham is 5.7 points lower. But rents and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Augusta-Richmond County to $99,718 in Birmingham, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Birmingham
- 96.4
Diff +0.1 RPP
Services
- Birmingham
- 83.8
Diff -5.7 RPP
Rents
- Birmingham
- 71.9
Diff +1.2 RPP
| Category | Augusta-Richmond County | Birmingham | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.9 | 91.6 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 96.4 | +0.1 |
| Services | 89.5 | 83.8 | -5.7 |
| Rents | 70.6 | 71.9 | +1.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Augusta-Richmond County 91.9
Birmingham 91.6
Goods
Augusta-Richmond County 96.3
Birmingham 96.4
Services
Augusta-Richmond County 89.5
Birmingham 83.8
Rents
Augusta-Richmond County 70.6
Birmingham 71.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Augusta-Richmond County would need to be in Birmingham for the same purchasing power:
| In Augusta-Richmond County | In Birmingham | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,859 | $-141 |
| $75,000 | $74,789 | $-211 |
| $100,000 | $99,718 | $-282 |
| $150,000 | $149,577 | $-423 |
$ in Augusta-Richmond County = in Birmingham
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.9 → 91.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Birmingham more expensive than Augusta-Richmond County?
Birmingham is 0.3% less expensive than Augusta-Richmond County. The overall cost index is 91.6 vs 91.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Birmingham equals $100K in Augusta-Richmond County?
A $100,000 salary in Augusta-Richmond County has the same purchasing power as $99,718 in Birmingham. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Augusta-Richmond County and Birmingham?
Rents in Augusta-Richmond County are indexed at 70.6 while Birmingham is at 71.9 (national average = 100). Birmingham has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.