Houston, TX → Charlotte, NC
Moving to Charlotte costs you $588 a month
−$7,056 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | Houston | Charlotte | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,958 | $7,724 | −$234 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,661 | $1,875 | +$214 |
| Take-home pay | $6,298 | $5,850 | −$448 |
| Rent | $1,199 | $1,329 | +$130 |
| Getting around | $572 | $568 | −$4 |
| Groceries | $380 | $384 | +$4 |
| Healthcare | $428 | $432 | +$4 |
| Utilities | $238 | $240 | +$2 |
| Everything else | $333 | $336 | +$3 |
| Left over | $3,149 | $2,561 | −$588 |
To break even in Charlotte, you'd need to earn
$103,500
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
−$3,397
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 20.9% in Houston, 24.3% in Charlotte.
Houston, TX in full
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
Charlotte, NC in full
A banking hub with a 4.25% flat tax and mild winters.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Charlotte on Charlotte wages.
Charlotte → 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.