Houston, TX → Atlanta, GA
Moving to Atlanta costs you $663 a month
−$7,956 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | Houston | Atlanta | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,958 | $7,880 | −$78 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,661 | $1,995 | +$334 |
| Take-home pay | $6,298 | $5,886 | −$412 |
| Rent | $1,199 | $1,399 | +$200 |
| Getting around | $572 | $580 | +$8 |
| Groceries | $380 | $392 | +$12 |
| Healthcare | $428 | $441 | +$13 |
| Utilities | $238 | $245 | +$7 |
| Everything else | $333 | $343 | +$10 |
| Left over | $3,149 | $2,486 | −$663 |
To break even in Atlanta, you'd need to earn
$107,000
Household gross, versus $95,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Houston does now.
The tax difference alone
−$4,285
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 20.9% in Houston, 25.3% in Atlanta.
Houston, TX in full
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
Atlanta, GA in full
Big-city pay at mid-market housing costs, with a 31-minute average commute.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Atlanta on Atlanta wages.
Atlanta → Houston →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.