Milwaukee, WI → Phoenix, AZ
Moving to Phoenix costs you $58 a month
−$696 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 721 households moved Milwaukee → Phoenix (avg AGI $74,716). 450 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Milwaukee | Phoenix | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,625 | $7,547 | −$78 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,875 | $1,697 | −$177 |
| Take-home pay | $5,750 | $5,850 | +$100 |
| Rent | $1,245 | $1,276 | +$31 |
| Getting around | $503 | $586 | +$83 |
| Groceries | $384 | $396 | +$12 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $446 | +$14 |
| Utilities | $240 | $248 | +$8 |
| Everything else | $336 | $347 | +$11 |
| Left over | $2,610 | $2,552 | −$58 |
To break even in Phoenix, you'd need to earn
$91,500
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
+$1,853
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.6% in Milwaukee, 22.5% in Phoenix.
More about Phoenix
Milwaukee, WI in full
Lake Michigan summers, cheap housing, and a 1.5% property tax.
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Phoenix on Phoenix wages.
Phoenix → 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.