Milwaukee, WI → Houston, TX
You'd keep $523 more a month in Houston
+$6,276 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 288 households moved Milwaukee → Houston (avg AGI $64,319). 131 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Milwaukee | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,625 | $7,936 | +$311 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,875 | $1,654 | −$220 |
| Take-home pay | $5,750 | $6,282 | +$532 |
| Rent | $1,245 | $1,199 | −$46 |
| Getting around | $503 | $572 | +$69 |
| Groceries | $384 | $380 | −$4 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $428 | −$4 |
| Utilities | $240 | $238 | −$2 |
| Everything else | $336 | $333 | −$3 |
| Left over | $2,610 | $3,133 | +$523 |
To break even in Houston, you'd need to earn
$86,500
Household gross, versus $91,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Milwaukee does now.
The tax difference alone
+$3,752
A year, in state and local income tax. Texas has no wage income tax.
More about Houston
Milwaukee, WI in full
Lake Michigan summers, cheap housing, and a 1.5% property tax.
Houston, TX in full
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Houston on Houston wages.
Houston → Milwaukee →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.