Los Angeles, CA → Sacramento, CA
You'd keep $432 more a month in Sacramento
+$5,184 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 2,772 households moved Los Angeles → Sacramento (avg AGI $87,219). 2,618 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Los Angeles | Sacramento | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,750 | $8,047 | −$703 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,378 | $2,104 | −$274 |
| Take-home pay | $6,372 | $5,943 | −$429 |
| Rent | $2,276 | $1,677 | −$599 |
| Getting around | $674 | $600 | −$74 |
| Groceries | $476 | $424 | −$52 |
| Healthcare | $536 | $477 | −$59 |
| Utilities | $298 | $265 | −$33 |
| Everything else | $417 | $371 | −$46 |
| Left over | $1,697 | $2,129 | +$432 |
To break even in Sacramento, you'd need to earn
$88,000
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
+$785
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 27.2% in Los Angeles, 26.2% in Sacramento.
More about Sacramento
Los Angeles, CA in full
Perfect weather, deep job market, and a car payment you can't avoid.
Sacramento, CA in full
Bay Area access at two-thirds the rent, with California's tax bill intact.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Sacramento on Sacramento wages.
Sacramento → 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.