Detroit vs Ann Arbor leftover
Moving to Ann Arbor costs you $394 a month
$2,088/mo leftover in Ann Arbor vs $2,482 in Detroit after tax and rent ($394 less). −$4,728 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Detroit leftover
$2,482
a month after tax and rent
Ann Arbor leftover
$2,088
−$394 vs Detroit
Compare Detroit to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Detroit.
Monthly gap
Detroit → Ann Arbor
$394
less / month in Detroit
$2,088 in Ann Arbor · $2,482 in Detroit · 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, 3,948 households moved Detroit → Ann Arbor (avg AGI $93,323). 4,613 went the other way. The whole move →
−$394 / mo
| Per month | Detroit | Ann Arbor | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,625 | $7,104 | −$521 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,049 | $1,761 | −$289 |
| Take-home pay | $5,576 | $5,343 | −$233 |
| Rent | $1,185 | $1,492 | +$307 |
| Getting around | $560 | $394 | −$166 |
| Groceries | $372 | $378 | +$6 |
| Healthcare | $419 | $425 | +$6 |
| Utilities | $233 | $236 | +$3 |
| Everything else | $326 | $330 | +$4 |
| Left over | $2,482 | $2,088 | −$394 |
To break even in Ann Arbor, you'd need to earn
$92,500
Household gross, versus $91,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Detroit does now.
The tax difference alone
+$1,609
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 26.9% in Detroit, 24.8% in Ann Arbor.
More about Ann Arbor
Detroit, MI in full
Engineering wages against some of the cheapest urban housing in America.
Ann Arbor, MI in full
A flat 4.25% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,776 and 173 sunny days; commutes average 23 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Ann Arbor on Ann Arbor wages.
Ann Arbor → Detroit →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Ann Arbor than Detroit?
A one-bedroom is about $1,185 in Detroit versus $1,492 in Ann Arbor. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $394 a month lower in Ann Arbor. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Ann Arbor have state income tax?
Ann Arbor is in Michigan, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 1.00%.
What changes if you move from Detroit to Ann Arbor?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Michigan 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 Detroit and Ann Arbor 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.