Cleveland, OH → Phoenix, AZ
Moving to Phoenix costs you $83 a month
−$996 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 380 households moved Cleveland → Phoenix (avg AGI $93,587). 270 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Cleveland | Phoenix | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,417 | $7,573 | +$156 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,830 | $1,705 | −$124 |
| Take-home pay | $5,587 | $5,867 | +$281 |
| Rent | $1,100 | $1,276 | +$176 |
| Getting around | $515 | $586 | +$71 |
| Groceries | $364 | $396 | +$32 |
| Healthcare | $410 | $446 | +$36 |
| Utilities | $228 | $248 | +$20 |
| Everything else | $319 | $347 | +$28 |
| Left over | $2,652 | $2,569 | −$83 |
To break even in Phoenix, you'd need to earn
$92,500
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
+$2,049
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.7% in Cleveland, 22.5% in Phoenix.
More about Phoenix
Cleveland, OH in full
World-class hospitals and an orchestra, at the lowest rents of any large metro.
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Phoenix on Phoenix wages.
Phoenix → Cleveland →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.