Take-home comparison: real dollars, not a vague index
Austin, TX wins by $47,195/yr
On $120,000, Austin, TX leaves you $68,994/yr vs San Francisco, CA's $21,799 after state tax + housing. We show the actual money in your pocket — state income tax + housing subtracted — not a percentage.
Compare two cities
Salary: Compare
New York, NY Los Angeles, CA Chicago, IL Dallas, TX Houston, TX Washington, DC Philadelphia, PA Miami, FL Atlanta, GA Boston, MA Phoenix, AZ San Francisco, CA Riverside, CA Detroit, MI Seattle, WA Minneapolis, MN San Diego, CA Tampa, FL Denver, CO Baltimore, MD St. Louis, MO Orlando, FL Charlotte, NC San Antonio, TX Portland, OR Sacramento, CA Pittsburgh, PA Cincinnati, OH Austin, TX Las Vegas, NV Kansas City, MO Columbus, OH Indianapolis, IN Cleveland, OH San Jose, CA Nashville, TN Virginia Beach, VA Providence, RI Jacksonville, FL Milwaukee, WI Oklahoma City, OK Raleigh, NC Memphis, TN Richmond, VA New Orleans, LA Salt Lake City, UT Hartford, CT Buffalo, NY Birmingham, AL Rochester, NY Grand Rapids, MI Tucson, AZ Urban Honolulu, HI Tulsa, OK Fresno, CA Worcester, MA Omaha, NE Bridgeport, CT Greenville, SC Albuquerque, NM Bakersfield, CA Albany, NY Knoxville, TN Baton Rouge, LA McAllen, TX New Haven, CT El Paso, TX Allentown, PA Oxnard, CA Columbia, SC North Port, FL Charleston, SC Greensboro, NC Stockton, CA Cape Coral, FL Boise City, ID Colorado Springs, CO Little Rock, AR Lakeland, FL Akron, OH Des Moines, IA Springfield, MA Ogden, UT Madison, WI Winston, NC Deltona, FL Syracuse, NY Provo, UT Toledo, OH Wichita, KS Durham, NC Augusta, GA Palm Bay, FL Jackson, MS Harrisburg, PA Spokane, WA Scranton, PA Chattanooga, TN Modesto, CA Lancaster, PA Portland, ME Youngstown, OH Lansing, MI Fayetteville, AR Fayetteville, NC Lexington, KY Pensacola, FL Santa Rosa, CA Reno, NV Huntsville, AL Port St. Lucie, FL Lafayette, LA Myrtle Beach, SC Springfield, MO Visalia, CA Killeen, TX Asheville, NC York, PA Vallejo, CA Santa Maria, CA Salinas, CA Salem, OR Mobile, AL Reading, PA Corpus Christi, TX Brownsville, TX Manchester, NH Fort Wayne, IN Gulfport, MS Salisbury, MD Flint, MI Peoria, IL Canton, OH Savannah, GA Anchorage, AK Beaumont, TX Shreveport, LA Trenton, NJ Montgomery, AL Davenport, IA Tallahassee, FL Eugene, OR Naples, FL Ann Arbor, MI Ocala, FL Hickory, NC Huntington, WV Fort Collins, CO Rockford, IL Lincoln, NE Gainesville, FL Boulder, CO Green Bay, WI Columbus, GA South Bend, IN Spartanburg, SC Greeley, CO Lubbock, TX Clarksville, TN Roanoke, VA Evansville, IN Kingsport, TN Kennewick, WA Utica, NY Hagerstown, MD Duluth, MN Olympia, WA Longview, TX Wilmington, NC San Luis Obispo, CA Crestview, FL Merced, CA Waco, TX Cedar Rapids, IA Atlantic City, NJ Bremerton, WA Sioux Falls, SD Santa Cruz, CA Erie, PA Norwich, CT Amarillo, TX Laredo, TX Tuscaloosa, AL College Station, TX Kalamazoo, MI Lynchburg, VA Charleston, WV Yakima, WA Fargo, ND Binghamton, NY Fort Smith, AR Appleton, WI Topeka, KS Macon, GA Tyler, TX Barnstable Town, MA Daphne, AL Bellingham, WA Burlington, VT Rochester, MN Enter two cities + a salary.
Why dollars beat an index
State income tax (the big lever) No-tax states (TX, FL, WA, NV, TN…) vs high-tax (CA ~9.3%, OR ~9.9%, HI…) move take-home by thousands. We model each state's 2025 effective rate (Tax Foundation).
Housing (the other big lever) Owner-equivalent housing cost from Zillow's typical home value per metro.
Honest limits Federal + FICA are coarse effective-rate estimates; state tax is the precise differentiator. Not a tax return.
Talk to a local agent → Moving supplies →
Popular city-vs-city Austin, TX vs San Francisco, CA Miami, FL vs New York, NY Nashville, TN vs Los Angeles, CA Denver, CO vs Seattle, WA Dallas, TX vs Chicago, IL Phoenix, AZ vs San Diego, CA