Memphis, TN → Los Angeles, CA
Moving to Los Angeles costs you $1,079 a month
−$12,948 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 186 households moved Memphis → Los Angeles (avg AGI $93,210). 241 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Memphis | Los Angeles | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,083 | $8,718 | +$1,635 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,401 | $2,366 | +$964 |
| Take-home pay | $5,682 | $6,352 | +$670 |
| Rent | $1,058 | $2,276 | +$1,218 |
| Getting around | $548 | $674 | +$126 |
| Groceries | $364 | $476 | +$112 |
| Healthcare | $410 | $536 | +$126 |
| Utilities | $228 | $298 | +$70 |
| Everything else | $319 | $417 | +$98 |
| Left over | $2,756 | $1,677 | −$1,079 |
To break even in Los Angeles, you'd need to earn
$126,000
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
−$5,756
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 19.8% in Memphis, 27.1% in Los Angeles.
More about Los Angeles
Memphis, TN in full
No income tax and a logistics economy; wages trail the national median.
Los Angeles, CA in full
Perfect weather, deep job market, and a car payment you can't avoid.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Los Angeles on Los Angeles wages.
Los Angeles → 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.