Ithaca vs Buffalo leftover
You'd keep $783 more a month in Buffalo
$2,515/mo leftover in Buffalo vs $1,732 in Ithaca after tax and rent ($783 more). +$9,396 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Ithaca leftover
$1,732
a month after tax and rent
Buffalo leftover
$2,515
+$783 vs Ithaca
Compare Ithaca to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Ithaca.
Monthly gap
Ithaca → Buffalo
$783
more / month in Buffalo
$2,515 in Buffalo · $1,732 in Ithaca · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 46 households moved Ithaca → Buffalo (avg AGI $58,000). 38 went the other way. The whole move →
+$783 / mo
| Per month | Ithaca | Buffalo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,708 | $7,402 | +$693 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,609 | $1,853 | +$244 |
| Take-home pay | $5,100 | $5,549 | +$450 |
| Rent | $1,571 | $1,169 | −$402 |
| Getting around | $359 | $517 | +$158 |
| Groceries | $397 | $372 | −$25 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $419 | −$27 |
| Utilities | $248 | $233 | −$15 |
| Everything else | $347 | $326 | −$21 |
| Left over | $1,732 | $2,515 | +$783 |
To break even in Buffalo, you'd need to earn
$74,500
Household gross, versus $80,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Ithaca does now.
The tax difference alone
−$459
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.0% in Ithaca, 25.0% in Buffalo.
More about Buffalo
Ithaca, NY in full
State income tax topping out at 9.65%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,870 and 155 sunny days; commutes average 21 minutes.
Buffalo, NY in full
Cheap housing, a 21-minute commute, and 85 inches of snow.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Buffalo on Buffalo wages.
Buffalo → Ithaca →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Buffalo than Ithaca?
A one-bedroom is about $1,571 in Ithaca versus $1,169 in Buffalo. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $783 a month higher in Buffalo. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Buffalo have state income tax?
Buffalo is in New York, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Ithaca to Buffalo?
Take-home pay is recalculated under New York 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.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Ithaca and Buffalo moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
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.