Households in the Mobile area have a harder time setting money aside than those in most comparable American cities, according to a national analysis of mid-sized metropolitan areas released this summer.
The study, produced by Self Financial, scored 97 metro areas with populations between 350,000 and 999,999. Mobile finished 78th. Pensacola, its neighbor across the state line, landed at 69th.
How The Rankings Were Built
Researchers drew on figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Zillow and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Each metro received a composite score built from three inputs: real per capita personal income, median housing costs measured as a share of median household income, and the area’s historical unemployment rate. Median home prices and fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment were included for additional context.
Where Mobile Landed
Mobile posted a composite score of 63.31, with real per capita personal income of $43,042 and median housing costs consuming about 22.2 percent of median household income. The report listed the metro’s historical unemployment rate as roughly average, its median home price at $122,892 and fair market rent for a two-bedroom unit at $874.
Pensacola scored 68.14, with real per capita personal income of $43,623 and housing costs at about 20.1 percent of median household income.
Both cities trail the national picture on income. Across the United States, real per capita personal income stood at $50,372, with median housing costs at 21.0 percent of household income, a historical unemployment rate of 5.3 percent, a median home price of $242,141 and fair market rent of $1,204 for a two-bedroom apartment.
The comparison points to the same tension familiar to many Gulf Coast households: housing that costs less in absolute dollars than the national median, paired with incomes low enough that a similar or larger share of each paycheck still goes toward keeping a roof overhead, leaving less room for savings.
Fayetteville, Arkansas took the top spot in the ranking. Huntsville was the strongest Alabama showing at fifth.