Goldsboro vs Hickory leftover
You'd keep $38 more a month in Hickory
$2,095/mo leftover in Hickory vs $2,057 in Goldsboro after tax and rent ($38 more). +$456 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Goldsboro leftover
$2,057
a month after tax and rent
Hickory leftover
$2,095
+$38 vs Goldsboro
Compare Goldsboro to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Goldsboro.
Monthly gap
Goldsboro → Hickory
$38
more / month in Hickory
$2,095 in Hickory · $2,057 in Goldsboro · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
+$38 / mo
| Per month | Goldsboro | Hickory | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,500 | $6,796 | +$296 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,460 | $1,560 | +$100 |
| Take-home pay | $5,040 | $5,236 | +$196 |
| Rent | $984 | $1,142 | +$158 |
| Getting around | $605 | $605 | $0 |
| Groceries | $385 | $385 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $433 | $433 | $0 |
| Utilities | $241 | $241 | $0 |
| Everything else | $337 | $337 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,057 | $2,095 | +$38 |
To break even in Hickory, you'd need to earn
$81,000
Household gross, versus $78,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Goldsboro does now.
The tax difference alone
−$151
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.5% in Goldsboro, 23.0% in Hickory.
More about Hickory
Goldsboro, NC in full
A flat 4.25% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,172 and 219 sunny days; commutes average 23 minutes.
Hickory, NC in full
A flat 4.25% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,360 and 223 sunny days; commutes average 24 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Hickory on Hickory wages.
Hickory → Goldsboro →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Hickory than Goldsboro?
A one-bedroom is about $984 in Goldsboro versus $1,142 in Hickory. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $38 a month higher in Hickory. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Hickory have state income tax?
Hickory is in North Carolina, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Goldsboro to Hickory?
Take-home pay is recalculated under North Carolina 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 Goldsboro and Hickory 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.