Buffalo, NY → Rochester, NY
Moving to Rochester costs you $11 a month
−$132 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 997 households moved Buffalo → Rochester (avg AGI $53,957). 940 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Buffalo | Rochester | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,417 | $7,495 | +$78 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,858 | $1,886 | +$28 |
| Take-home pay | $5,559 | $5,609 | +$50 |
| Rent | $1,178 | $1,229 | +$51 |
| Getting around | $517 | $526 | +$9 |
| Groceries | $372 | $372 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $419 | $419 | $0 |
| Utilities | $233 | $233 | $0 |
| Everything else | $326 | $326 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,516 | $2,505 | −$11 |
To break even in Rochester, 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
−$56
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.0% in Buffalo, 25.2% in Rochester.
More about Rochester
Buffalo, NY in full
Cheap housing, a 21-minute commute, and 85 inches of snow.
Rochester, NY in full
The highest effective property tax rate in the country, on very cheap houses.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Rochester on Rochester wages.
Rochester → Buffalo →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.