Overall
84.8
Cheap
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL
Cost-of-living indicators for Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 84.8
- Overall RPP
- #380
- of 387 metros
- 47.7
- Rents RPP
- $118K
- $100K national buys
Florence ranks #380 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Shreveport-Bossier City
The verdict
Florence costs less than 98% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 84.8, 15.2% below the national average, with rents the biggest swing at 47.7.
- bottom 2%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 96.4
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 85.8
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $117,901 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $84,817.
Florence vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
85 Bottom 2% higher than 2% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Florence cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
47.7 RPP
- Services
Services
85.8 RPP
- Overall
Overall
84.8 RPP
- Goods
Goods
96.4 RPP
What this shows Florence's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 47.7 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 85.8. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Florence's cost comes from
Metros near Florence's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Florence (Florence, this metro): goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 47.7
- Shreveport: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 52.3
- Houma: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 51.3
- Hammond: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 48.2
- Enid: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 51.4
- Wildwood: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 51.7
- Jackson: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 56.6
Price Index Summary
Goods
96.4
Below avg
Services
85.8
Cheap
Rents
47.7
Cheap
Housing-led affordability profile
How Florence's cost structure works
Housing is the strongest affordability offset in Florence: rents index at 47.7, the component furthest below the national benchmark. That does not make every local expense low, but it is the clearest explanation for the metro's overall RPP of 84.8.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Dothan, AL, Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Terre Haute, IN. They resemble Florence across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Florence's overall index has stayed within 1.5 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$84,817
in Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$42,409
$75,000 nationally
$63,613
$125,000 nationally
$106,021
$150,000 nationally
$127,226
$200,000 nationally
$169,634
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
A
99/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability A
99th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 1.5 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2010, when the index jumped 3.7 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Florence overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 83.3 |
| 2009 | 84.2 |
| 2010 | 87.9 |
| 2011 | 86.0 |
| 2012 | 88.6 |
| 2013 | 85.3 |
| 2014 | 87.1 |
| 2015 | 86.3 |
| 2016 | 85.9 |
| 2017 | 86.7 |
| 2018 | 84.0 |
| 2019 | 81.9 |
| 2020 | 82.8 |
| 2021 | 85.4 |
| 2022 | 84.5 |
| 2023 | 84.5 |
| 2024 | 84.8 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Florence's overall RPP rose +0.4 points, from 84.5 in 2023 to 84.8 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 42.0 to 47.7. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Florence's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Dothan, AL
Goods 96.4 · Services 84.3 · Rents 46.9 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
Goods 96.3 · Services 87.9 · Rents 51.3 Terre Haute, IN
Goods 94.3 · Services 86.6 · Rents 51.9 Florence, SC
Goods 96.3 · Services 87.7 · Rents 52.4 Wildwood-The Villages, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 89.0 · Rents 51.7 Gadsden, AL
Goods 96.4 · Services 86.7 · Rents 53.7
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL's index of 84.8.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
AL-relative analysis
Goods prices places Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL near the bottom of AL's metros
Among the 12 AL metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 12
0th percentile in AL
Services prices
#3 of 12
75th percentile in AL
Rent prices
#11 of 12
8th percentile in AL
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within AL only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (84.8 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (47.7 here).
Other AL Metros
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL 94.7 Huntsville, AL 93.1 Birmingham, AL 91.6 Montgomery, AL 89.7 Mobile, AL 88.1 Auburn-Opelika, AL 87.9
View all AL metros → Cheapest in AL → Most expensive in AL →
Compare to Other Metros
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
What this means for Florence
How to read Florence's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $117,901 in Florence. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 47.7, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Florence head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL?
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 84.8, meaning it is 15.2% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 96.4, services at 85.8, and rents at 47.7. It ranks #380 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $84,817 in Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL. Conversely, $100K earned in Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL has the purchasing power of $117,901 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL?
Rents in Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL are indexed at 47.7, which is 52.3% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL's overall cost index changed by +1.5 points (from 83.3 to 84.8). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL?
The priciest category in Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL is goods at 96.4, 3.6% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is rents at 47.7, 52.3% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Shreveport-Bossier City, Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, Hammond. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL's 84.8.
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.