Jule Shopping Edited — Holiday shopping is fun — and stressful. Here is how experts recommend to spend your money for the holidays. (Jule Collins Smith Museum)

Despite the joy of the holiday season, it can come with some stress and financial strain for many folks. Between buying gifts, party supplies, decor, traveling and tickets to holiday events, the costs can add up.

WalletHub, a personal finance company, determined the recommended maximum budget for someone living in cities across Alabama, and the results are across the board – ranging from less than $800 to nearly $2,600 for 2025.

The study considered five key metrics:

Income
Age
Debt-to-income ratio
Monthly income-to-monthly expenses ratio
Savings-to-monthly expenses ratio

Here are how seven of Alabama’s largest cities stacked up against one another.

2025 holiday budget for each Alabama city

The WalletHub study measured 558 cities across the U.S., and seven Alabama cities made the cut: Birmingham, Hoover, Dothan, Huntsville, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa and Mobile.

Hoover topped the list of Alabama holiday budget recommendations, coming in at a whopping $2,565.

Mobile, Dothan and Tuscaloosa, on the other hand, have more conservative budget expectations with each city under $800.

This year, holiday sales in the U.S. are expected to rise between 3.7% and 4.2% to more than $1 trillion, according to Wallet Hub.

Black Friday spending for 2025 was also up 9.1% compared to last year, reaching a record $11.8 billion — much of this shopping is considered to be part of holiday spending since consumers buy gifts and holiday decor.

Despite this increase, Americans are still facing a growing affordability crisis. Almost everything — from groceries to medical services — has seen a price increase in the last five years, and it’s likely that most folks in Alabama have seen the impact of that in their wallets.

Where are you doing the bulk of your holiday shopping this year? Let us know by tagging us @thebamabuzz on Instagram and Facebook!

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