Boston, MA → Pittsburgh, PA
You'd keep $607 more a month in Pittsburgh
+$7,284 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | Boston | Pittsburgh | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $9,042 | $7,483 | −$1,559 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,416 | $1,974 | −$442 |
| Take-home pay | $6,626 | $5,509 | −$1,117 |
| Rent | $2,619 | $1,191 | −$1,428 |
| Getting around | $445 | $497 | +$52 |
| Groceries | $464 | $368 | −$96 |
| Healthcare | $522 | $414 | −$108 |
| Utilities | $290 | $230 | −$60 |
| Everything else | $406 | $322 | −$84 |
| Left over | $1,880 | $2,487 | +$607 |
To break even in Pittsburgh, you'd need to earn
$78,500
Household gross, versus $108,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Boston does now.
The tax difference alone
−$245
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 26.7% in Boston, 26.4% in Pittsburgh.
Boston, MA in full
Great pay in medicine and research, brutal winters, tight housing stock.
Pittsburgh, PA in full
Real city density and a robotics job market, at Rust Belt prices.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Pittsburgh on Pittsburgh wages.
Pittsburgh → Boston →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.