Civil Engineers salary in Birmingham, AL

Median pay for civil engineers in Birmingham, AL: $84,650/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $61,000 – $146,200 · about 1,160 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($88,630) by −$3,980 (-4%).

What it's really worth in Birmingham

With Birmingham's cost of living at 92 (US=100), that $84,650 has the buying power of about $92,246 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $68,329 · median home $262,556 · median rent $1,448/mo.

Full Birmingham cost of living & taxes →

How Birmingham ranks for this job

On raw pay, Birmingham, AL is 113th of the 187 metros we hold civil engineers wages for. Once Birmingham's cost of living is applied, it ranks 92nd.

Pay here goes further than the headline number suggests — Birmingham is one of the places where civil engineers gain ground in real terms, because local costs are low relative to what the job pays.

What that salary buys in Birmingham

A median home in Birmingham, AL costs $262,556 — about 3.1× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is more attainable here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,448/mo works out at 21% of gross pay — inside the conventional 30% affordability ceiling.

Where civil engineers earn more

Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Birmingham.

Metro	Median pay	vs Birmingham	Rent vs Birmingham
Sacramento, CA	$125,760	+49%	1.6×
San Francisco, CA	$122,670	+45%	2.3×
San Jose, CA	$119,430	+41%	2.5×
Baton Rouge, LA	$110,110	+30%	1×

Same job elsewhere in AL

Metro	Median pay	vs Birmingham	Rent vs Birmingham
Huntsville, AL	$97,700	+15%	1×
Mobile, AL	$97,280	+15%	0.9×
Montgomery, AL	$93,910	+11%	1×
Tuscaloosa, AL	$89,460	+6%	1×

Staying in AL keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

Other jobs in Birmingham