Alabama and Georgia at a glance
Alabama and Georgia share a border, but a paycheck does not travel across it unchanged. A $60,000 salary leaves $28,619 a year after taxes and the four basics in Alabama and $24,354 in Georgia.
Alabama comes out ahead by $4,265 a year ($355 a month). The calculation starts from the same gross pay in both states, subtracts federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, then each state's own income tax, and then the population-weighted cost of a one-bedroom rental, groceries, home energy and gasoline across 5,086,768 people in 67 counties in Alabama and 10,940,407 people in 159 counties in Georgia.
Taxes: what each paycheck loses
Federal income tax ($5,072) and FICA ($4,590) on $60,000 are the same on both sides of the border. State income tax takes $2,481 in Alabama and $2,491 in Georgia, which leaves take-home pay of $47,857 and $47,847.
At $100,000
At $100,000 take-home pay is $74,838 in Alabama and $74,334 in Georgia, a difference of $505. The gap widens with income because graduated state brackets take a growing share.
Living costs
One-bedroom rent averages $1,010 a month in Alabama and $1,374 in Georgia, so Alabama is $363 a month cheaper for housing. Food costs $3,436 a year in both, because the USDA Thrifty Food Plan is a national figure; home energy $2,341 and $2,207, and gasoline $1,338 and $1,366. Together the basics cost $19,238 a year in Alabama and $23,493 in Georgia.
What the Census adds
Median household income is $63,999 in Alabama and $77,353 in Georgia. Homeowners pay a median of $788 a year in property tax in Alabama and $2,341 in Georgia. Commuters travel 25.5 minutes each way on average in Alabama and 28.3 in Georgia.
Method
Taxes use the 2025 rules for a single filer with wage income only and the standard deduction. Housing and living costs are county figures from HUD (one-bedroom Fair Market Rent), the USDA Thrifty Food Plan and state energy prices from the Energy Information Administration, averaged across each state's counties and weighted by population, so large counties count more. Local income taxes are not included. Counties differ widely inside every state, so use the county pages for a specific place.