Hartford vs Waterbury leftover
You'd keep $255 more a month in Waterbury
$2,648/mo leftover in Waterbury vs $2,393 in Hartford after tax and rent ($255 more). +$3,060 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Hartford leftover
$2,393
a month after tax and rent
Waterbury leftover
$2,648
+$255 vs Hartford
Compare Hartford to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Hartford.
Monthly gap
Hartford → Waterbury
$255
more / month in Waterbury
$2,648 in Waterbury · $2,393 in Hartford · 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, 2,047 households moved Hartford → Waterbury (avg AGI $61,906). 2,360 went the other way. The whole move →
+$255 / mo
| Per month | Hartford | Waterbury | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,125 | $8,188 | +$63 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,095 | $2,117 | +$22 |
| Take-home pay | $6,030 | $6,071 | +$41 |
| Rent | $1,625 | $1,362 | −$263 |
| Getting around | $519 | $581 | +$62 |
| Groceries | $412 | $408 | −$4 |
| Healthcare | $464 | $459 | −$5 |
| Utilities | $258 | $255 | −$3 |
| Everything else | $361 | $357 | −$4 |
| Left over | $2,393 | $2,648 | +$255 |
To break even in Waterbury, you'd need to earn
$93,500
Household gross, versus $97,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Hartford does now.
The tax difference alone
−$41
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.8% in Hartford, 25.9% in Waterbury.
More about Waterbury
Hartford, CT in full
Insurance-industry wages, cheap houses, and a 1.78% property tax rate.
Waterbury, CT in full
State income tax topping out at 6.99%, a median 2-bedroom estimated asking rent of $1,621 and 196 sunny days; commutes average 28 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Waterbury on Waterbury wages.
Waterbury → Hartford →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Waterbury than Hartford?
A one-bedroom is about $1,625 in Hartford versus $1,362 in Waterbury. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $255 a month higher in Waterbury. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Waterbury have state income tax?
Waterbury is in Connecticut, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Hartford to Waterbury?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Connecticut 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 Hartford and Waterbury 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.