Grants Pass vs Salem leftover
You'd keep $234 more a month in Salem
$1,612/mo leftover in Salem vs $1,378 in Grants Pass after tax and rent ($234 more). +$2,808 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Grants Pass leftover
$1,378
a month after tax and rent
Salem leftover
$1,612
+$234 vs Grants Pass
Compare Grants Pass to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Grants Pass.
Monthly gap
Grants Pass → Salem
$234
more / month in Salem
$1,612 in Salem · $1,378 in Grants Pass · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
33 went the other way. The whole move →
+$234 / mo
| Per month | Grants Pass | Salem | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,417 | $6,987 | +$571 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,720 | $1,939 | +$219 |
| Take-home pay | $4,697 | $5,048 | +$351 |
| Rent | $1,128 | $1,270 | +$142 |
| Getting around | $618 | $593 | −$25 |
| Groceries | $434 | $434 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $488 | $488 | $0 |
| Utilities | $271 | $271 | $0 |
| Everything else | $380 | $380 | $0 |
| Left over | $1,378 | $1,612 | +$234 |
To break even in Salem, you'd need to earn
$79,500
Household gross, versus $77,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Grants Pass does now.
The tax difference alone
−$599
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 26.8% in Grants Pass, 27.8% in Salem.
More about Salem
Grants Pass, OR in full
State income tax topping out at 9.9%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,343 and 199 sunny days; commutes average 21 minutes.
Salem, OR in full
State income tax topping out at 9.9%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,512 and 158 sunny days; commutes average 25 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Salem on Salem wages.
Salem → Grants Pass →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Salem than Grants Pass?
A one-bedroom is about $1,128 in Grants Pass versus $1,270 in Salem. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $234 a month higher in Salem. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Salem have state income tax?
Salem is in Oregon, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Grants Pass to Salem?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Oregon 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 Grants Pass and Salem 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.