#38 of 66 for you
Buffalo, NY
Cheap housing, a 21-minute commute, and 85 inches of snow.
Left over monthly
$2,522
Versus Chicago
+$142/mo
+$1,704 a year
Local pay for your job
$89,119
Local wages run -5% vs national
Where the money goes
One earner filing as a household, at 1 bedrooms.
- Taxes$1,861
- Rent$1,178
- Other living costs$1,865
- Left over$2,522
Pay and tax, per year
- Gross household pay
- $89,119
- Federal income tax
- −$11,220
- Social Security and Medicare
- −$6,818
- State income tax (NY)
- −$4,299
- Take-home pay
- $66,782
- Effective tax rate
- 25.1%
Living costs, per month
- Rent, 1br
- $1,178
- Groceries
- $372
- Getting around
- $517
- Healthcare
- $419
- Utilities and internet
- $233
- Everything else
- $326
- Total spending
- $3,043
Left over each month
$7,427 gross, minus $1,861 in tax and $3,043 in living costs.
$2,522
What living here is like
- Weather
- 166 sunny days, 80°F in July, 18°F January nights
- Getting around
- Plan on a car per adult
- Average commute
- 21 minutes each way
- Size
- 1.2M people
- Buying instead
- Median home $209,600 — roughly $1,549/mo with 20% down, tax and upkeep
- Taxes
- New York income tax. Sales tax 8.5%, property tax 1.70%.
How it scores against what you said matters
- Money left over
- 61
- Sun and mild weather
- 45
- Access to the outdoors
- 66
- City life and culture
- 58
- A short commute
- 85
Chicago vs Buffalo, line by line
Same job, same household, both tax codes applied.
Open the comparison →Also worth a look
- Seattle, WA$3,406/mo
No state income tax and high wages, offset by home prices and 150 sunny days.
- Austin, TX$3,176/mo
No income tax, but property taxes are among the steepest anywhere.
- Houston, TX$3,159/mo
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
- Dallas, TX$3,044/mo
No income tax, endless new construction, and a 1.5% property tax bill.