Los Angeles, CA → Houston, TX
You'd keep $1,459 more a month in Houston
+$17,508 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | Los Angeles | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,750 | $7,969 | −$781 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,378 | $1,664 | −$714 |
| Take-home pay | $6,372 | $6,305 | −$67 |
| Rent | $2,276 | $1,199 | −$1,077 |
| Getting around | $674 | $572 | −$102 |
| Groceries | $476 | $380 | −$96 |
| Healthcare | $536 | $428 | −$108 |
| Utilities | $298 | $238 | −$60 |
| Everything else | $417 | $333 | −$84 |
| Left over | $1,697 | $3,156 | +$1,459 |
To break even in Houston, you'd need to earn
$70,500
Household gross, versus $105,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Los Angeles does now.
The tax difference alone
+$5,792
A year, in state and local income tax. Texas has no wage income tax.
Los Angeles, CA in full
Perfect weather, deep job market, and a car payment you can't avoid.
Houston, TX in full
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Houston on Houston wages.
Houston → Los Angeles →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.