Birmingham vs Detroit - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Birmingham	Detroit
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2219	$2032
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5157	$4925
🏠 One person rent	$1271	$1105
🏘️ Family rent	$1934	$1878
🍽️ Food expenses	$562	$664
🚐 Transport expenses	$217	$121
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3699	$3072
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	9 km
🎓 Higher education	96	77
😀 Quality of life	94	88
🏙️ Population	1.14M	639K

The cost of living in Birmingham is 9% more expensive than in Detroit. Cities ranked 1454th and 1947th ($2219 vs $2032) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 57th and 1526th in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively. Check the United Kingdom vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Birmingham compared to 1.5 months in Detroit. Birmingham ranked 2nd best city to live in the United Kingdom vs Detroit ranked 95th in the United States, while ranked 41st and 318th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Birmingham vs Detroit

Prices for goods and services in Birmingham and Detroit are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Birmingham	Detroit
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$18.1	$18.1
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$75.6	$66.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.9	$11.5
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$6.95	$6.88
☕ Cappuccino	$4.89	$5.48
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.32	$2.95
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1255	$1299
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$964	$820
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2045	$2296
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1459	$1448
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$205	$130
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$315	$201
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$42.8	$59.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.96%	6.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5472	$1602
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4260	$1188
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$3.99	$2
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$93.2	$75.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$22.7	$15.4
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.99	$0.88
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.8	$0.95
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.63	$3.34
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.25	$6.68
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.5	$3.71
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12	$13.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.94	$12.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.2	$16.1
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.65	$5.04
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.94	$1.4
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.66	$5.46
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.45	$5.71
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.58	$2.49
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.75	$2.83
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.04	$1.6
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.29	$3.05
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$12.5	$15.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.44	$3.04
🚬 Cigarette pack	$21.3	$10.3
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$10.5	$13.9
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.95	$7.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$4.82	$3.46
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.01	$1.75
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$35.2	$40.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$15.2	$11.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$112	$88.2
💇 Haircut, simple	$15.3	$18.2
👖 Brand Jeans	$92.3	$58.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$107	$100
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1648	$1360
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$21078	$19339

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Birmingham

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.7 km or 2.9 mi	Smethwick	$1972
6.8 km or 4.2 mi	West Bromwich	$1920
11 km or 6.6 mi	Halesowen	$1909
12 km or 7.2 mi	Solihull	$1957
12 km or 7.6 mi	Walsall	$1818
14 km or 8.7 mi	Dudley	$1780
14 km or 8.7 mi	Aldridge	$1892
15 km or 9.6 mi	Willenhall	$1872
17 km or 10 mi	Stourbridge	$1835
19 km or 12 mi	Wolverhampton	$1836
19 km or 12 mi	Bromsgrove	$1887
20 km or 12 mi	Redditch	$1769
22 km or 14 mi	Tamworth	$1881
25 km or 15 mi	Cannock	$1886
26 km or 16 mi	Kidderminster	$1910
27 km or 17 mi	Coventry	$2010
30 km or 19 mi	Nuneaton	$1693
31 km or 19 mi	Warwick	$2006
32 km or 20 mi	Leamington Spa	$2163
35 km or 22 mi	Stratford-upon-Avon	$1902
37 km or 23 mi	Hinckley	$1861
39 km or 24 mi	Worcester	$1742
39 km or 24 mi	Stafford	$1871
40 km or 25 mi	Burton upon Trent	$1770
43 km or 27 mi	Telford	$1627
45 km or 28 mi	Rugby	$1754
55 km or 34 mi	Leicester	$1838
57 km or 35 mi	Derby	$1733
57 km or 35 mi	Loughborough	$1900
60 km or 37 mi	Banbury	$1833
61 km or 38 mi	Stoke-on-Trent	$1730
63 km or 39 mi	Shrewsbury	$1749
63 km or 39 mi	Newcastle-under-Lyme	$1519
66 km or 41 mi	Cheltenham	$1912
66 km or 41 mi	Market Harborough	$1942
70 km or 44 mi	Leek	$1841
72 km or 45 mi	Gloucester	$1921
73 km or 45 mi	Hereford	$1928
73 km or 46 mi	Nottingham	$1891
73 km or 46 mi	Northampton	$1894

Cities near Detroit

Distance	City	Cost of living
1.9 km or 1.2 mi	Windsor	$1980
7.4 km or 4.6 mi	Hamtramck	$1947
14 km or 8.6 mi	Dearborn	$1975
15 km or 9.1 mi	Lincoln Park	$1926
16 km or 9.8 mi	Allen Park	$1993
16 km or 10 mi	Ferndale	$1939
17 km or 10 mi	Wyandotte	$1758
17 km or 11 mi	Eastpointe	$1909
18 km or 11 mi	Madison Heights	$1969
18 km or 11 mi	Warren	$1820
19 km or 12 mi	Oak Park	$1943
19 km or 12 mi	Southgate	$1907
19 km or 12 mi	Royal Oak	$1946
20 km or 12 mi	Dearborn Heights	$1926
21 km or 13 mi	Roseville	$1905
21 km or 13 mi	Taylor	$2030
21 km or 13 mi	Southfield	$1915
22 km or 14 mi	St. Clair Shores	$1905
22 km or 14 mi	Inkster	$1941
24 km or 15 mi	Garden	$1876
26 km or 16 mi	Amherstburg	$1926
27 km or 17 mi	Birmingham	$1968
28 km or 17 mi	Sterling Heights	$1837
28 km or 17 mi	Livonia	$1920
29 km or 18 mi	Troy	$1972
29 km or 18 mi	Westland	$1945
30 km or 19 mi	Clinton Township	$1944
31 km or 19 mi	Romulus	$2004
32 km or 20 mi	Farmington Hills	$2181
37 km or 23 mi	Rochester Hills	$1940
39 km or 24 mi	Novi	$2307
40 km or 25 mi	Pontiac	$1796
42 km or 26 mi	Auburn Hills	$1913
54 km or 34 mi	Monroe	$1701
58 km or 36 mi	Ann Arbor	$2285
71 km or 44 mi	Chatham-Kent	$1843
86 km or 54 mi	Toledo	$1624
88 km or 54 mi	Burton	$1635
88 km or 54 mi	Port Huron	$1957
89 km or 55 mi	Sarnia	$1619