Midland vs Bay City leftover
Moving to Bay City costs you $393 a month
$2,362/mo leftover in Bay City vs $2,755 in Midland after tax and rent ($393 less). −$4,716 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Midland leftover
$2,755
a month after tax and rent
Bay City leftover
$2,362
−$393 vs Midland
Compare Midland to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Midland.
Monthly gap
Midland → Bay City
$393
less / month in Midland
$2,362 in Bay City · $2,755 in Midland · 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, 336 households moved Midland → Bay City (avg AGI $53,250). 311 went the other way. The whole move →
−$393 / mo
| Per month | Midland | Bay City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,542 | $6,818 | −$724 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,913 | $1,661 | −$253 |
| Take-home pay | $5,628 | $5,157 | −$471 |
| Rent | $947 | $842 | −$105 |
| Getting around | $557 | $584 | +$27 |
| Groceries | $378 | $378 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $425 | $425 | $0 |
| Utilities | $236 | $236 | $0 |
| Everything else | $330 | $330 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,755 | $2,362 | −$393 |
To break even in Bay City, you'd need to earn
$89,000
Household gross, versus $90,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Midland does now.
The tax difference alone
+$456
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.4% in Midland, 24.4% in Bay City.
More about Bay City
Midland, MI in full
A flat 4.25% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,127 and 175 sunny days; commutes average 24 minutes.
Bay City, MI in full
A flat 4.25% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,002 and 171 sunny days; commutes average 23 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Bay City on Bay City wages.
Bay City → Midland →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Bay City than Midland?
A one-bedroom is about $947 in Midland versus $842 in Bay City. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $393 a month lower in Bay City. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Bay City have state income tax?
Bay City is in Michigan, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 1.00%.
What changes if you move from Midland to Bay City?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Michigan 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 Midland and Bay City 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.