Moving from Cleveland to Austin
You'd keep $517 more a month in Austin
+$6,204 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
Cleveland leftover
$2,652
a month after tax and rent
Austin leftover
$3,169
+$517 vs Cleveland
In 2022-2023, 118 households moved Cleveland → Austin (avg AGI $84,559). 61 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Cleveland | Austin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,417 | $8,119 | +$703 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,830 | $1,709 | −$121 |
| Take-home pay | $5,587 | $6,411 | +$824 |
| Rent | $1,100 | $1,226 | +$126 |
| Getting around | $515 | $566 | +$51 |
| Groceries | $364 | $400 | +$36 |
| Healthcare | $410 | $450 | +$40 |
| Utilities | $228 | $250 | +$22 |
| Everything else | $319 | $350 | +$31 |
| Left over | $2,652 | $3,169 | +$517 |
To break even in Austin, you'd need to earn
$88,500
Household gross, versus $89,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Cleveland does now.
The tax difference alone
+$3,956
A year, in state and local income tax. Texas has no wage income tax.
More about Austin
Cleveland, OH in full
World-class hospitals and an orchestra, at the lowest rents of any large metro.
Austin, TX in full
No income tax, but property taxes are among the steepest anywhere.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Austin on Austin wages.
Austin → Cleveland →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Austin than Cleveland?
A one-bedroom is about $1,100 in Cleveland versus $1,226 in Austin. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $517 a month higher in Austin. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Austin have state income tax?
Austin is in Texas, which has no state income tax.
What changes if you move from Cleveland to Austin?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Texas 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.
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.