#9 of 66 for you
Raleigh, NC
Research Triangle salaries, low taxes, and not much to do downtown.
Left over monthly
$2,754
Versus Chicago
+$374/mo
+$4,488 a year
Local pay for your job
$94,748
Local wages run 1% vs national
Where the money goes
One earner filing as a household, at 1 bedrooms.
- Taxes$1,933
- Rent$1,249
- Other living costs$1,960
- Left over$2,754
Pay and tax, per year
- Gross household pay
- $94,748
- Federal income tax
- −$12,459
- Social Security and Medicare
- −$7,248
- State income tax (NC)
- −$3,485
- Take-home pay
- $71,556
- Effective tax rate
- 24.5%
Living costs, per month
- Rent, 1br
- $1,249
- Groceries
- $384
- Getting around
- $568
- Healthcare
- $432
- Utilities and internet
- $240
- Everything else
- $336
- Total spending
- $3,209
Left over each month
$7,896 gross, minus $1,933 in tax and $3,209 in living costs.
$2,754
What living here is like
- Weather
- 213 sunny days, 90°F in July, 31°F January nights
- Getting around
- Plan on a car per adult
- Average commute
- 25 minutes each way
- Size
- 1.5M people
- Buying instead
- Median home $381,000 — roughly $2,539/mo with 20% down, tax and upkeep
- Taxes
- North Carolina income tax. Sales tax 7.0%, property tax 0.83%.
How it scores against what you said matters
- Money left over
- 72
- Sun and mild weather
- 70
- Access to the outdoors
- 66
- City life and culture
- 66
- A short commute
- 65
Chicago vs Raleigh, 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.