Lincoln vs Grand Island leftover
Moving to Grand Island costs you $56 a month
$2,463/mo leftover in Grand Island vs $2,519 in Lincoln after tax and rent ($56 less). −$672 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Lincoln leftover
$2,519
a month after tax and rent
Grand Island leftover
$2,463
−$56 vs Lincoln
Compare Lincoln to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Lincoln.
Monthly gap
Lincoln → Grand Island
$56
less / month in Lincoln
$2,463 in Grand Island · $2,519 in Lincoln · 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, 94 households moved Lincoln → Grand Island (avg AGI $47,787). 189 went the other way. The whole move →
−$56 / mo
| Per month | Lincoln | Grand Island | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,917 | $7,041 | +$125 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,638 | $1,682 | +$43 |
| Take-home pay | $5,278 | $5,359 | +$81 |
| Rent | $993 | $1,082 | +$89 |
| Getting around | $500 | $549 | +$49 |
| Groceries | $349 | $349 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $393 | $393 | $0 |
| Utilities | $218 | $218 | $0 |
| Everything else | $306 | $306 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,519 | $2,463 | −$56 |
To break even in Grand Island, you'd need to earn
$85,500
Household gross, versus $83,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Lincoln does now.
The tax difference alone
−$78
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.7% in Lincoln, 23.9% in Grand Island.
More about Grand Island
Lincoln, NE in full
State income tax topping out at 5.2%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,182 and 228 sunny days; commutes average 19 minutes.
Grand Island, NE in full
State income tax topping out at 5.2%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,288 and 226 sunny days; commutes average 19 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Grand Island on Grand Island wages.
Grand Island → Lincoln →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Grand Island than Lincoln?
A one-bedroom is about $993 in Lincoln versus $1,082 in Grand Island. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $56 a month lower in Grand Island. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Grand Island have state income tax?
Grand Island is in Nebraska, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Lincoln to Grand Island?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Nebraska 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 Lincoln and Grand Island 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.