Kingston vs Buffalo leftover
You'd keep $212 more a month in Buffalo
$2,530/mo leftover in Buffalo vs $2,318 in Kingston after tax and rent ($212 more). +$2,544 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Kingston leftover
$2,318
a month after tax and rent
Buffalo leftover
$2,530
+$212 vs Kingston
Compare Kingston to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Kingston.
Monthly gap
Kingston → Buffalo
$212
more / month in Buffalo
$2,530 in Buffalo · $2,318 in Kingston · 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, 25 households moved Kingston → Buffalo (avg AGI $62,320). The whole move →
+$212 / mo
| Per month | Kingston | Buffalo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,792 | $7,424 | −$367 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,992 | $1,861 | −$131 |
| Take-home pay | $5,800 | $5,564 | −$236 |
| Rent | $1,541 | $1,169 | −$372 |
| Getting around | $502 | $517 | +$15 |
| Groceries | $397 | $372 | −$25 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $419 | −$27 |
| Utilities | $248 | $233 | −$15 |
| Everything else | $347 | $326 | −$21 |
| Left over | $2,318 | $2,530 | +$212 |
To break even in Buffalo, you'd need to earn
$85,000
Household gross, versus $93,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Kingston does now.
The tax difference alone
+$264
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.6% in Kingston, 25.1% in Buffalo.
More about Buffalo
Kingston, NY in full
State income tax topping out at 9.65%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,834 and 179 sunny days; commutes average 28 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 → Kingston →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Buffalo than Kingston?
A one-bedroom is about $1,541 in Kingston versus $1,169 in Buffalo. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $212 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 Kingston 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 Kingston 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.