Should I Move To
Montgomery, Alabama comes in at about 199,819 residents. Cost of living comes out very affordable — 17% below the national average. Rent typically lands near $1,026/mo, and the median household income is about $54,166. Overall, 61/100 on our composite score, which works out to a C+, putting it at #125 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
Cost-of-living index of 83 (with 100 as the US baseline) — that's very affordable territory. With median rent at $1,026/mo and median household income at $54,166, housing takes about 23% of gross income — right inside the standard 30%-of-income guideline. Homes typically value around $141,900.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →Expect hot-summer weather — summers near 93°F, winters around 39°F. Rain (and snow, in some seasons) totals about 51 inches annually. You'll need a car for most things, though the central core is more walkable than the citywide score suggests. Crime numbers are reassuringly low here, well under the typical US city. AQI runs about 43 — a "good" reading.
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
On the families profile, Montgomery sits squarely in the middle. The profile-weighted score is 74/100 — a B. Its standout dimension is safety (98/100); the soft spot is job market (13/100).
On the retirees profile, Montgomery sits squarely in the middle. The profile-weighted score is 73/100 — a B. Its standout dimension is safety (98/100); the soft spot is job market (13/100).
On the remote workers profile, Montgomery sits squarely in the middle. The profile-weighted score is 74/100 — a B. Its standout dimension is safety (98/100); the soft spot is job market (13/100).
Montgomery is a tougher sell for young professionals. The profile-weighted score is 53/100 — a C-. Its standout dimension is safety (98/100); the soft spot is job market (13/100).
Our overall score for Montgomery is 61/100 — a C+, sitting at #125 in the national ranking. It's a weighted average across the seven UrbRank dimensions.
By the composite index, Montgomery sits at 83 — very affordable, 17% below the national average. Median renter pays around $1,026 a month.
Montgomery runs hot-summer on the weather. Summer's near 93°F, winter's near 39°F; 51 inches of precipitation annually.
Walk Score: 44/100. You'll need a car for most things, though the central core is more walkable than the citywide score suggests.
Roughly 199,819 people live here, with 33% college-educated (bachelor's or higher) among adults 25+ with a median age of 36.
Drop Montgomery into the comparison tool with any other US city and you'll get housing costs, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life data lined up side by side. Profile-specific leaderboards (families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals) are linked from the navigation.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare Montgomery with other Alabama cities scored on UrbRank.
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