Los Angeles, CA → Memphis, TN
You'd keep $1,077 more a month in Memphis
+$12,924 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 241 households moved Los Angeles → Memphis (avg AGI $72,299). 186 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Los Angeles | Memphis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,750 | $7,109 | −$1,641 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,378 | $1,409 | −$969 |
| Take-home pay | $6,372 | $5,700 | −$671 |
| Rent | $2,276 | $1,058 | −$1,218 |
| Getting around | $674 | $548 | −$126 |
| Groceries | $476 | $364 | −$112 |
| Healthcare | $536 | $410 | −$126 |
| Utilities | $298 | $228 | −$70 |
| Everything else | $417 | $319 | −$98 |
| Left over | $1,697 | $2,774 | +$1,077 |
To break even in Memphis, you'd need to earn
$67,000
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. Tennessee has no wage income tax.
More about Memphis
Los Angeles, CA in full
Perfect weather, deep job market, and a car payment you can't avoid.
Memphis, TN in full
No income tax and a logistics economy; wages trail the national median.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Memphis on Memphis wages.
Memphis → 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.