Phoenix, AZ → Atlanta, GA
Moving to Atlanta costs you $81 a month
−$972 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | Phoenix | Atlanta | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $7,896 | +$313 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,709 | $2,000 | +$291 |
| Take-home pay | $5,875 | $5,896 | +$21 |
| Rent | $1,276 | $1,399 | +$123 |
| Getting around | $586 | $580 | −$6 |
| Groceries | $396 | $392 | −$4 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $441 | −$5 |
| Utilities | $248 | $245 | −$3 |
| Everything else | $347 | $343 | −$4 |
| Left over | $2,577 | $2,496 | −$81 |
To break even in Atlanta, you'd need to earn
$96,000
Household gross, versus $91,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Phoenix does now.
The tax difference alone
−$2,385
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.5% in Phoenix, 25.3% in Atlanta.
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
Atlanta, GA in full
Big-city pay at mid-market housing costs, with a 31-minute average commute.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Atlanta on Atlanta wages.
Atlanta → Phoenix →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.