Modesto vs Los Angeles leftover
It's a wash — the same money left over either way
$1,676/mo leftover in Los Angeles vs $1,676 in Modesto after tax and rent. $0 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Modesto leftover
$1,676
a month after tax and rent
Los Angeles leftover
$1,676
same as origin
Compare Modesto to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Modesto.
Monthly gap
Modesto → Los Angeles
$1,676
same leftover / month after tax and rent
$1,676 in Los Angeles · $1,676 in Modesto · 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, 355 households moved Modesto → Los Angeles (avg AGI $51,786). 347 went the other way. The whole move →
$0 / mo
| Per month | Modesto | Los Angeles | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,125 | $8,712 | +$1,587 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,745 | $2,363 | +$618 |
| Take-home pay | $5,380 | $6,348 | +$969 |
| Rent | $1,463 | $2,273 | +$810 |
| Getting around | $670 | $674 | +$4 |
| Groceries | $433 | $476 | +$43 |
| Healthcare | $487 | $536 | +$49 |
| Utilities | $271 | $298 | +$27 |
| Everything else | $379 | $417 | +$38 |
| Left over | $1,676 | $1,676 | $0 |
To break even in Los Angeles, you'd need to earn
$104,500
Household gross, versus $85,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Modesto does now.
The tax difference alone
−$1,771
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.5% in Modesto, 27.1% in Los Angeles.
More about Los Angeles
Modesto, CA in full
State income tax topping out at 12.3%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,742 and 252 sunny days; commutes average 31 minutes.
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 → Modesto →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Los Angeles than Modesto?
A one-bedroom is about $1,463 in Modesto versus $2,273 in Los Angeles. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about the same in both cities. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Los Angeles have state income tax?
Los Angeles is in California, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Modesto to Los Angeles?
Take-home pay is recalculated under California 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 Modesto and Los Angeles 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.