Indianapolis, IN → Phoenix, AZ
You'd keep $106 more a month in Phoenix
+$1,272 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 415 households moved Indianapolis → Phoenix (avg AGI $91,817). 306 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Indianapolis | Phoenix | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,417 | $7,573 | +$156 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,870 | $1,705 | −$165 |
| Take-home pay | $5,547 | $5,867 | +$321 |
| Rent | $1,205 | $1,276 | +$71 |
| Getting around | $545 | $586 | +$41 |
| Groceries | $368 | $396 | +$28 |
| Healthcare | $414 | $446 | +$32 |
| Utilities | $230 | $248 | +$18 |
| Everything else | $322 | $347 | +$25 |
| Left over | $2,463 | $2,569 | +$106 |
To break even in Phoenix, you'd need to earn
$89,000
Household gross, versus $89,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Indianapolis does now.
The tax difference alone
+$2,531
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.2% in Indianapolis, 22.5% in Phoenix.
More about Phoenix
Indianapolis, IN in full
Cheap housing, a 3% flat state tax, and a short commute.
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Phoenix on Phoenix wages.
Phoenix → Indianapolis →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.