What is the cost of living in Florence-Muscle Shoals?

Florence-Muscle Shoals has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 84.8, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 47.7, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,000/month.

What is the median salary in Florence-Muscle Shoals?

The median salary in Florence-Muscle Shoals is $54,891 annually (mean: $58,394). Top occupations include Retail Salespersons, Cashiers, Registered Nurses.

How safe is Florence-Muscle Shoals?

The violent crime rate in the Florence-Muscle Shoals area is 376 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1622 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Florence-Muscle Shoals?

The state of AL has 1,369 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.7:1. Charter schools make up 1.2% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Florence-Muscle Shoals?

Infant center-based childcare in the Florence-Muscle Shoals area averages $6,896 per year. Preschool averages $6,348/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Florence-Muscle Shoals a good place to relocate?

Florence-Muscle Shoals has a Life Score of 56.6/100 (C-), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is an above-average score, Florence-Muscle Shoals outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Florence-Muscle Shoals sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Florence-Muscle Shoals ranks #83 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL

BEA RPP 84.8 ranks #8 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

84.8
Cost index (US=100): $1,000
2BR rent / mo: $54,891
Median salary: 58.3
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Florence-Muscle Shoals ranks #83 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (58.3/100), with its strongest marks in cost of living and housing.

#83
of 387 US metros · Above median: 5,157,699
metro-area population: 376
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,369
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: job market (3/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Florence-Muscle Shoals ranks #83 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 84.8 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,000/mo, median salary $54,891; LiveAbility Score 58.3/100, strongest in cost of living and housing.

Signature: BEA RPP 84.8 ranks #8 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 84.8 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,000/mo.

LiveAbility 58.3/100 puts Florence-Muscle Shoals in the top third (#83 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Florence-Muscle Shoals area is 48,280.

Florence-Muscle Shoals vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

58 Top 21% higher than 79% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

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 and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Florence-Muscle Shoals housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Florence-Muscle Shoals MSA; housing RPP 47.7 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,000/mo.

Studio

$698

/month

1 Bedroom

$775

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,000

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,242

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,409

/month

Florence-Muscle Shoals wages and employment

Florence-Muscle Shoals posts 48,280 total employment with median salary $54,891 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$54,891

Mean Salary

$58,394

Total Employment

48,280

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Retail Salespersons	$28,980
Cashiers	$27,310
Registered Nurses	$66,360
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$22,590
Stockers and Order Fillers	$30,570

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Florence-Muscle Shoals area from NCES.

Schools

1,369

Enrollment

746,604

Student:Teacher

17.7:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Florence-Muscle Shoals area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$6,896

per year

Toddler (Center)

$6,716

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,348

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Florence-Muscle Shoals's composite Life Score is 56.6/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

98/100

Elite

Wages

3/100

Bottom decile

Rent

93/100

Elite

Crime

41/100

Below average

Schools

70/100

Strong

Childcare

91/100

Elite

Environment

2/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Florence-Muscle Shoals ranks #83 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 58.3/100 - a composite of 7 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized). Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Cost of living (98/100)

Cost of living

98
Housing

93
Climate

73
Low hazard

61
Safety

41
Schools

30
Job market

3

What this shows Florence-Muscle Shoals's strongest dimensions are cost of living and housing; its weakest among scored dims is job market at 3/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%; this metro uses 7 of 8 dims with renormalized weights.

Compare Florence-Muscle Shoals to

Norwich-New London-Willimantic Ocala Odessa Ogden Oklahoma City Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater

Metros near Florence-Muscle Shoals on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Florence-Muscle Shoals on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Florence-Muscle Shoals cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Florence-Muscle Shoals wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Florence-Muscle Shoals?

Florence-Muscle Shoals runs a $54,891 median salary at a 84.8 cost index, ranking #83 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Florence-Muscle Shoals's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Florence-Muscle Shoals head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Florence-Muscle Shoals
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.