What is the cost of living in Montgomery?

Montgomery has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 89.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 64.3, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,016/month.

What is the median salary in Montgomery?

The median salary in Montgomery is $58,388 annually (mean: $61,641). Top occupations include Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Retail Salespersons, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive.

How safe is Montgomery?

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

What are the schools like in Montgomery?

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 Montgomery?

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

Is Montgomery a good place to relocate?

Montgomery has a Life Score of 54.6/100 (D), 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 a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Montgomery sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Montgomery ranks #101 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

Montgomery, AL

BEA RPP 89.7 ranks #94 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

89.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,016
2BR rent / mo: $58,388
Median salary: 56.4
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Montgomery ranks #101 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (56.4/100), with its strongest marks in housing and climate.

#101
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 (17/100). 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), Montgomery ranks #101 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 89.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,016/mo, median salary $58,388; LiveAbility Score 56.4/100, strongest in housing and climate.

Signature: BEA RPP 89.7 ranks #94 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 89.7 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,016/mo.

LiveAbility 56.4/100 puts Montgomery in the top third (#101 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Montgomery area is 157,200.

Montgomery 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)

56 Top 26% higher than 74% 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

Montgomery housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Montgomery MSA; housing RPP 64.3 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,016/mo.

Studio

$860

/month

1 Bedroom

$870

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,016

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,304

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,537

/month

Montgomery wages and employment

Montgomery posts 157,200 total employment with median salary $58,388 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$58,388

Mean Salary

$61,641

Total Employment

157,200

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators	$45,380
Retail Salespersons	$29,650
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive	$40,260
Registered Nurses	$79,570
Stockers and Order Fillers	$34,370

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Montgomery area from NCES.

Schools

1,369

Enrollment

746,604

Student:Teacher

17.7:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Montgomery area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$6,896

per year

Toddler (Center)

$6,716

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,348

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Montgomery's composite Life Score is 54.6/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

76/100

Strong

Wages

17/100

Bottom decile

Rent

92/100

Elite

Crime

40/100

Below average

Schools

72/100

Strong

Childcare

90/100

Elite

Environment

3/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Montgomery ranks #101 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 56.4/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Housing (92/100)

Housing

92
Climate

79
Cost of living

76
Air quality

60
Low hazard

60
Safety

40
Schools

29
Job market

17

What this shows Montgomery's strongest dimensions are housing and climate; its weakest among scored dims is job market at 17/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Montgomery to

Greenville Gulfport-Biloxi Hagerstown-Martinsburg Hammond Hanford-Corcoran Harrisburg-Carlisle

Metros near Montgomery on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Montgomery 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

Montgomery cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Montgomery 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 Montgomery?

Montgomery runs a $58,388 median salary at a 89.7 cost index, ranking #101 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Montgomery's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Montgomery head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Montgomery
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.