Detroit, MI → San Antonio, TX
You'd keep $335 more a month in San Antonio
+$4,020 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | Detroit | San Antonio | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,625 | $7,236 | −$389 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,049 | $1,447 | −$603 |
| Take-home pay | $5,576 | $5,789 | +$214 |
| Rent | $1,194 | $1,052 | −$142 |
| Getting around | $560 | $566 | +$6 |
| Groceries | $372 | $376 | +$4 |
| Healthcare | $419 | $423 | +$4 |
| Utilities | $233 | $235 | +$2 |
| Everything else | $326 | $329 | +$3 |
| Left over | $2,473 | $2,808 | +$335 |
To break even in San Antonio, you'd need to earn
$81,000
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
+$5,847
A year, in state and local income tax. Texas has no wage income tax.
Detroit, MI in full
Engineering wages against some of the cheapest urban housing in America.
San Antonio, TX in full
Among the cheapest big-city rents in the country, with the highest property tax rate here.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from San Antonio on San Antonio wages.
San Antonio → Detroit →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.