

Buffalo vs Phoenix
$43/mo more in Phoenix
BuffaloPhoenixAbout 1,918 miles apart, a flight.
- Phoenix leaves you more
- Rent under 30% of pay
- 299 sunny days
Same paycheck, two cities. $2,568/mo in Phoenix. $2,525/mo in Buffalo. +$516 a year.
Buffalo
$2,525
left each month
Phoenix
$2,568
+$43 vs Buffalo
Compare
Same paycheck, another city.
Next
In 2022-2023, 154 households moved Buffalo → Phoenix (avg AGI $62,714). 133 went the other way. The whole move →
+$43 / mo
See full breakdown
| Per month | Buffalo | Phoenix | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,417 | $7,573 | +$156 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,858 | $1,705 | −$152 |
| Take-home pay | $5,559 | $5,867 | +$309 |
| Rent | $1,169 | $1,277 | +$108 |
| Getting around | $517 | $586 | +$69 |
| Groceries | $372 | $396 | +$24 |
| Healthcare | $419 | $446 | +$27 |
| Utilities | $233 | $248 | +$15 |
| Everything else | $326 | $347 | +$21 |
| Left over | $2,525 | $2,568 | +$43 |
Salary to match Buffalo
$90,000
Gross pay in Phoenix that leaves the same amount as $89,000 in Buffalo.
Tax difference
+$2,385
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.0% in Buffalo, 22.5% in Phoenix.
More about Phoenix
Buffalo, NY in full
Cheap housing, a 21-minute commute, and 85 inches of snow.
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
The other way
Start in Phoenix.
Phoenix → Buffalo →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Phoenix than Buffalo?
For one adult in a one-bedroom, Phoenix leaves about $43 more a month. A one-bedroom is about $1,169 in Buffalo and $1,277 in Phoenix.
Does Phoenix have state income tax?
Phoenix is in Arizona, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Buffalo to Phoenix?
The paycheck is taxed in Arizona. Rent stays at the same bedroom count. What you keep is the difference.
Left over each month is take-home pay minus rent and the rest of the bills. The gap between Buffalo and Phoenix changes with the job, remote or local pay, and bedrooms. How we figure this · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Estimate, not a quote. How we figure this.