#58 of 66 for you
San Jose, CA
The highest salaries in the country, almost entirely cancelled out by the highest rents.
Left over monthly
$1,942
Versus Chicago
−$438/mo
−$5,256 a year
Local pay for your job
$127,581
Local wages run 36% vs national
Where the money goes
One earner filing as a household, at 1 bedrooms.
- Taxes$3,127
- Rent$2,990
- Other living costs$2,573
- Left over$1,942
Pay and tax, per year
- Gross household pay
- $127,581
- Federal income tax
- −$19,866
- Social Security and Medicare
- −$9,760
- State income tax (CA)
- −$7,892
- Take-home pay
- $90,062
- Effective tax rate
- 29.4%
Living costs, per month
- Rent, 1br
- $2,990
- Groceries
- $504
- Getting around
- $746
- Healthcare
- $567
- Utilities and internet
- $315
- Everything else
- $441
- Total spending
- $5,563
Left over each month
$10,632 gross, minus $3,127 in tax and $5,563 in living costs.
$1,942
What living here is like
- Weather
- 257 sunny days, 84°F in July, 42°F January nights
- Getting around
- Plan on a car per adult
- Average commute
- 29 minutes each way
- Size
- 2.0M people
- Buying instead
- Median home $1,342,700 — roughly $8,826/mo with 20% down, tax and upkeep
- Taxes
- California income tax. Sales tax 8.8%, property tax 0.72%.
How it scores against what you said matters
- Money left over
- 36
- Sun and mild weather
- 85
- Access to the outdoors
- 82
- City life and culture
- 62
- A short commute
- 45
Chicago vs San Jose, 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.