Austin, TX → Phoenix, AZ
Moving to Phoenix costs you $600 a month
−$7,200 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 603 households moved Austin → Phoenix (avg AGI $149,950). 889 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Austin | Phoenix | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,125 | $7,578 | −$547 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,710 | $1,707 | −$3 |
| Take-home pay | $6,415 | $5,871 | −$544 |
| Rent | $1,226 | $1,276 | +$50 |
| Getting around | $566 | $586 | +$20 |
| Groceries | $400 | $396 | −$4 |
| Healthcare | $450 | $446 | −$4 |
| Utilities | $250 | $248 | −$2 |
| Everything else | $350 | $347 | −$3 |
| Left over | $3,173 | $2,573 | −$600 |
To break even in Phoenix, you'd need to earn
$101,500
Household gross, versus $97,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Austin does now.
The tax difference alone
−$1,908
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 21.0% in Austin, 22.5% in Phoenix.
More about Phoenix
Austin, TX in full
No income tax, but property taxes are among the steepest anywhere.
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Phoenix on Phoenix wages.
Phoenix → Austin →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.