Albany vs Atlanta leftover
You'd keep $142 more a month in Atlanta
$2,486/mo leftover in Atlanta vs $2,344 in Albany after tax and rent ($142 more). +$1,704 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Albany leftover
$2,344
a month after tax and rent
Atlanta leftover
$2,486
+$142 vs Albany
Compare Albany to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Albany.
Monthly gap
Albany → Atlanta
$142
more / month in Atlanta
$2,486 in Atlanta · $2,344 in Albany · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 311 households moved Albany → Atlanta (avg AGI $39,161). 213 went the other way. The whole move →
+$142 / mo
| Per month | Albany | Atlanta | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,625 | $7,881 | +$1,256 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,557 | $1,995 | +$438 |
| Take-home pay | $5,068 | $5,886 | +$819 |
| Rent | $730 | $1,399 | +$669 |
| Getting around | $596 | $580 | −$16 |
| Groceries | $386 | $392 | +$6 |
| Healthcare | $434 | $441 | +$7 |
| Utilities | $241 | $245 | +$4 |
| Everything else | $337 | $343 | +$6 |
| Left over | $2,344 | $2,486 | +$142 |
To break even in Atlanta, you'd need to earn
$92,000
Household gross, versus $79,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Albany does now.
The tax difference alone
−$782
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.5% in Albany, 25.3% in Atlanta.
More about Atlanta
Albany, GA in full
A flat 5.19% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $869 and 222 sunny days; commutes average 23 minutes.
Atlanta, GA in full
Big-city pay at mid-market housing costs, with a 31-minute average commute.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Atlanta on Atlanta wages.
Atlanta → Albany →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Atlanta than Albany?
A one-bedroom is about $730 in Albany versus $1,399 in Atlanta. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $142 a month higher in Atlanta. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Atlanta have state income tax?
Atlanta is in Georgia, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Albany to Atlanta?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Georgia tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Albany and Atlanta moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.