Buffalo vs Binghamton leftover
Moving to Binghamton costs you $399 a month
$2,126/mo leftover in Binghamton vs $2,525 in Buffalo after tax and rent ($399 less). −$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.
Buffalo leftover
$2,525
a month after tax and rent
Binghamton leftover
$2,126
−$399 vs Buffalo
Compare Buffalo to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Buffalo.
Monthly gap
Buffalo → Binghamton
$399
less / month in Buffalo
$2,126 in Binghamton · $2,525 in Buffalo · 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, 33 households moved Buffalo → Binghamton (avg AGI $44,909). 52 went the other way. The whole move →
−$399 / mo
| Per month | Buffalo | Binghamton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,417 | $6,870 | −$546 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,858 | $1,666 | −$192 |
| Take-home pay | $5,559 | $5,205 | −$354 |
| Rent | $1,169 | $1,082 | −$87 |
| Getting around | $517 | $559 | +$42 |
| Groceries | $372 | $397 | +$25 |
| Healthcare | $419 | $446 | +$27 |
| Utilities | $233 | $248 | +$15 |
| Everything else | $326 | $347 | +$21 |
| Left over | $2,525 | $2,126 | −$399 |
To break even in Binghamton, you'd need to earn
$90,000
Household gross, versus $89,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Buffalo does now.
The tax difference alone
+$362
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.0% in Buffalo, 24.2% in Binghamton.
More about Binghamton
Buffalo, NY in full
Cheap housing, a 21-minute commute, and 85 inches of snow.
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.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Binghamton on Binghamton wages.
Binghamton → Buffalo →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Binghamton than Buffalo?
A one-bedroom is about $1,169 in Buffalo versus $1,082 in Binghamton. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $399 a month lower in Binghamton. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Binghamton have state income tax?
Binghamton is in New York, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Buffalo to Binghamton?
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 Buffalo and Binghamton 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.