Alabama
Moderate tax burden · COL index 87
Wins 6 categories
Virginia
Moderate tax burden · COL index 102
Wins 7 categories
Cost of living in Virginia (index 102) runs 17% higher than Alabama (index 87). Property taxes are meaningfully different: Virginia averages 0.74% annually vs Alabama's 0.39%. The median home in Virginia costs $390K vs $218K in Alabama. Politically, Alabama voted Republican in 2024 (R+28.0) while Virginia went Democratic (D+3.0).
Taxes
Housing & Cost of Living
Crime & Safety
Healthcare
Education
Childcare
Utilities & Daily Costs
Social Policy
Category wins
6
Alabama
7
Virginia
Run the full slider tool to score these states against your specific income, home value, retirement, and lifestyle priorities.
Score For My Profile →People Also Ask
Is it better to live in Virginia or Alabama?
On to Alabama, where we'll check out Birmingham as a comparison. The cost of living here is 5% lower than Virginia, while homes cost 9% less. Gas is almost 3% cheaper, and healthcare is 4% less. Coffee is also lower: almost 8% less than a cup in Virginia.
What is the downfall of living in Virginia?
What does Alabama have that no other state has?
Is moving to Alabama a good idea?