Houston, TX → Philadelphia, PA
Moving to Philadelphia costs you $733 a month
−$8,796 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | Houston | Philadelphia | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,958 | $8,114 | +$156 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,661 | $2,260 | +$600 |
| Take-home pay | $6,298 | $5,854 | −$444 |
| Rent | $1,199 | $1,541 | +$342 |
| Getting around | $572 | $418 | −$154 |
| Groceries | $380 | $408 | +$28 |
| Healthcare | $428 | $459 | +$31 |
| Utilities | $238 | $255 | +$17 |
| Everything else | $333 | $357 | +$24 |
| Left over | $3,149 | $2,416 | −$733 |
To break even in Philadelphia, you'd need to earn
$111,000
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
−$6,641
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 20.9% in Houston, 27.9% in Philadelphia.
Houston, TX in full
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
Philadelphia, PA in full
East Coast density at half of Boston's rent, minus a 3.75% city wage tax.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Philadelphia on Philadelphia wages.
Philadelphia → 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.