Overall
- Birmingham
- 91.6
Diff -0.7 RPP
Birmingham vs College Station-Bryan
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. College Station-Bryan is 0.8% less expensive than Birmingham.
0.8% less expensive
College Station-Bryan, TX is 0.8% less expensive than Birmingham, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.0 vs 91.6). A $100,000 salary in Birmingham buys about the same as $99,244 in College Station-Bryan; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 91.6 (Birmingham) vs 91.0 (College Station-Bryan)
- $100k in Birmingham ≈ $99,244 purchasing power in College Station-Bryan
- Rents drives the gap (+3.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:TX 91.6→91.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AL × TX
- 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.
Birmingham
91.6
Cost Index
College Station-Bryan
91.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Birmingham, AL and College Station-Bryan, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.7 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: College Station-Bryan is 3.2 points higher. But rents and services 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 housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Birmingham corresponds to $99,244 in College Station-Bryan.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Birmingham
- 96.4
Diff -2.6 RPP
Services
- Birmingham
- 83.8
Diff +0.6 RPP
Rents
- Birmingham
- 71.9
Diff +3.2 RPP
| Category | Birmingham | College Station-Bryan | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.6 | 91.0 | -0.7 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 93.8 | -2.6 |
| Services | 83.8 | 84.4 | +0.6 |
| Rents | 71.9 | 75.1 | +3.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Birmingham 91.6
College Station-Bryan 91.0
Goods
Birmingham 96.4
College Station-Bryan 93.8
Services
Birmingham 83.8
College Station-Bryan 84.4
Rents
Birmingham 71.9
College Station-Bryan 75.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Birmingham would need to be in College Station-Bryan for the same purchasing power:
| In Birmingham | In College Station-Bryan | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,622 | $-378 |
| $75,000 | $74,433 | $-567 |
| $100,000 | $99,244 | $-756 |
| $150,000 | $148,866 | $-1,134 |
$ in Birmingham = in College Station-Bryan
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.6 → 91.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is College Station-Bryan more expensive than Birmingham?
College Station-Bryan is 0.8% less expensive than Birmingham. The overall cost index is 91.0 vs 91.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in College Station-Bryan equals $100K in Birmingham?
A $100,000 salary in Birmingham has the same purchasing power as $99,244 in College Station-Bryan. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Birmingham and College Station-Bryan?
Rents in Birmingham are indexed at 71.9 while College Station-Bryan is at 75.1 (national average = 100). College Station-Bryan 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.