Moving from Houston to Pittsburgh
Moving to Pittsburgh costs you $657 a month
−$7,884 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
Houston leftover
$3,149
a month after tax and rent
Pittsburgh leftover
$2,492
−$657 vs Houston
In 2022-2023, 156 households moved Houston → Pittsburgh (avg AGI $92,250). 266 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Houston | Pittsburgh | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,958 | $7,490 | −$468 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,661 | $1,977 | +$316 |
| Take-home pay | $6,298 | $5,514 | −$784 |
| Rent | $1,199 | $1,191 | −$8 |
| Getting around | $572 | $497 | −$75 |
| Groceries | $380 | $368 | −$12 |
| Healthcare | $428 | $414 | −$14 |
| Utilities | $238 | $230 | −$8 |
| Everything else | $333 | $322 | −$11 |
| Left over | $3,149 | $2,492 | −$657 |
To break even in Pittsburgh, you'd need to earn
$102,000
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
−$5,456
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 20.9% in Houston, 26.4% in Pittsburgh.
More about Pittsburgh
Houston, TX in full
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
Pittsburgh, PA in full
Real city density and a robotics job market, at Rust Belt prices.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Pittsburgh on Pittsburgh wages.
Pittsburgh → Houston →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Pittsburgh than Houston?
A one-bedroom is about $1,199 in Houston versus $1,191 in Pittsburgh. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $657 a month lower in Pittsburgh. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Pittsburgh have state income tax?
Pittsburgh is in Pennsylvania, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 3.00%.
What changes if you move from Houston to Pittsburgh?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Pennsylvania 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.
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.