Phoenix, AZ → Houston, TX
You'd keep $583 more a month in Houston
+$6,996 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | Phoenix | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $7,974 | +$391 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,709 | $1,666 | −$43 |
| Take-home pay | $5,875 | $6,309 | +$434 |
| Rent | $1,276 | $1,199 | −$77 |
| Getting around | $586 | $572 | −$14 |
| Groceries | $396 | $380 | −$16 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $428 | −$18 |
| Utilities | $248 | $238 | −$10 |
| Everything else | $347 | $333 | −$14 |
| Left over | $2,577 | $3,160 | +$583 |
To break even in Houston, you'd need to earn
$86,000
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
+$1,910
A year, in state and local income tax. Texas has no wage income tax.
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
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 → 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.