Los Angeles vs Modesto leftover
Moving to Modesto costs you $5 a month
$1,695/mo leftover in Modesto vs $1,700 in Los Angeles after tax and rent ($5 less). −$60 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Los Angeles leftover
$1,700
a month after tax and rent
Modesto leftover
$1,695
−$5 vs Los Angeles
Compare Los Angeles to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Los Angeles.
Monthly gap
Los Angeles → Modesto
$5
less / month in Los Angeles
$1,695 in Modesto · $1,700 in Los Angeles · 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, 347 households moved Los Angeles → Modesto (avg AGI $51,124). 355 went the other way. The whole move →
−$5 / mo
| Per month | Los Angeles | Modesto | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,750 | $7,156 | −$1,594 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,378 | $1,757 | −$621 |
| Take-home pay | $6,372 | $5,399 | −$973 |
| Rent | $2,273 | $1,463 | −$810 |
| Getting around | $674 | $670 | −$4 |
| Groceries | $476 | $433 | −$43 |
| Healthcare | $536 | $487 | −$49 |
| Utilities | $298 | $271 | −$27 |
| Everything else | $417 | $379 | −$38 |
| Left over | $1,700 | $1,695 | −$5 |
To break even in Modesto, you'd need to earn
$86,000
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
+$1,779
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 27.2% in Los Angeles, 24.6% in Modesto.
More about Modesto
Los Angeles, CA in full
Perfect weather, deep job market, and a car payment you can't avoid.
Modesto, CA in full
State income tax topping out at 12.3%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,742 and 252 sunny days; commutes average 31 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Modesto on Modesto wages.
Modesto → Los Angeles →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Modesto than Los Angeles?
A one-bedroom is about $2,273 in Los Angeles versus $1,463 in Modesto. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $5 a month lower in Modesto. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Modesto have state income tax?
Modesto is in California, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Los Angeles to Modesto?
Take-home pay is recalculated under California 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 Los Angeles and Modesto 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.