Binghamton vs Buffalo leftover
You'd keep $399 more a month in Buffalo
$2,528/mo leftover in Buffalo vs $2,129 in Binghamton after tax and rent ($399 more). +$4,788 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Binghamton leftover
$2,129
a month after tax and rent
Buffalo leftover
$2,528
+$399 vs Binghamton
Compare Binghamton to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Binghamton.
Monthly gap
Binghamton → Buffalo
$399
more / month in Buffalo
$2,528 in Buffalo · $2,129 in Binghamton · 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, 52 households moved Binghamton → Buffalo (avg AGI $68,865). 33 went the other way. The whole move →
+$399 / mo
| Per month | Binghamton | Buffalo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,875 | $7,422 | +$547 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,667 | $1,860 | +$192 |
| Take-home pay | $5,208 | $5,562 | +$355 |
| Rent | $1,082 | $1,169 | +$87 |
| Getting around | $559 | $517 | −$42 |
| Groceries | $397 | $372 | −$25 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $419 | −$27 |
| Utilities | $248 | $233 | −$15 |
| Everything else | $347 | $326 | −$21 |
| Left over | $2,129 | $2,528 | +$399 |
To break even in Buffalo, you'd need to earn
$81,500
Household gross, versus $82,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Binghamton does now.
The tax difference alone
−$363
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.3% in Binghamton, 25.1% in Buffalo.
More about Buffalo
Binghamton, NY in full
State income tax topping out at 9.65%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,288 and 165 sunny days; commutes average 20 minutes.
Buffalo, NY in full
Cheap housing, a 21-minute commute, and 85 inches of snow.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Buffalo on Buffalo wages.
Buffalo → Binghamton →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Buffalo than Binghamton?
A one-bedroom is about $1,082 in Binghamton versus $1,169 in Buffalo. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $399 a month higher in Buffalo. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Buffalo have state income tax?
Buffalo is in New York, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Binghamton to Buffalo?
Take-home pay is recalculated under New York 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 Binghamton and Buffalo 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.