#48 of 66 for you
Sacramento, CA
Bay Area access at two-thirds the rent, with California's tax bill intact.
Left over monthly
$2,132
Versus Chicago
−$248/mo
−$2,976 a year
Local pay for your job
$96,624
Local wages run 3% vs national
Where the money goes
One earner filing as a household, at 1 bedrooms.
- Taxes$2,106
- Rent$1,677
- Other living costs$2,137
- Left over$2,132
Pay and tax, per year
- Gross household pay
- $96,624
- Federal income tax
- −$12,871
- Social Security and Medicare
- −$7,392
- State income tax (CA)
- −$5,013
- Take-home pay
- $71,348
- Effective tax rate
- 26.2%
Living costs, per month
- Rent, 1br
- $1,677
- Groceries
- $424
- Getting around
- $600
- Healthcare
- $477
- Utilities and internet
- $265
- Everything else
- $371
- Total spending
- $3,814
Left over each month
$8,052 gross, minus $2,106 in tax and $3,814 in living costs.
$2,132
What living here is like
- Weather
- 265 sunny days, 93°F in July, 39°F January nights
- Getting around
- Plan on a car per adult
- Average commute
- 28 minutes each way
- Size
- 2.4M people
- Buying instead
- Median home $559,000 — roughly $3,684/mo with 20% down, tax and upkeep
- Taxes
- California income tax. Sales tax 8.8%, property tax 0.74%.
How it scores against what you said matters
- Money left over
- 44
- Sun and mild weather
- 86
- Access to the outdoors
- 86
- City life and culture
- 62
- A short commute
- 50
Chicago vs Sacramento, 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.