Memphis, TN → Atlanta, GA
Moving to Atlanta costs you $283 a month
−$3,396 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 502 households moved Memphis → Atlanta (avg AGI $63,004). 300 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Memphis | Atlanta | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,083 | $7,862 | +$778 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,401 | $1,988 | +$587 |
| Take-home pay | $5,682 | $5,873 | +$191 |
| Rent | $1,058 | $1,399 | +$341 |
| Getting around | $548 | $580 | +$32 |
| Groceries | $364 | $392 | +$28 |
| Healthcare | $410 | $441 | +$31 |
| Utilities | $228 | $245 | +$17 |
| Everything else | $319 | $343 | +$24 |
| Left over | $2,756 | $2,473 | −$283 |
To break even in Atlanta, you'd need to earn
$99,500
Household gross, versus $85,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Memphis does now.
The tax difference alone
−$4,273
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 19.8% in Memphis, 25.3% in Atlanta.
More about Atlanta
Memphis, TN in full
No income tax and a logistics economy; wages trail the national median.
Atlanta, GA in full
Big-city pay at mid-market housing costs, with a 31-minute average commute.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Atlanta on Atlanta wages.
Atlanta → Memphis →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.