Phoenix, AZ → Miami, FL
Moving to Miami costs you $895 a month
−$10,740 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | Phoenix | Miami | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $7,505 | −$78 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,709 | $1,526 | −$182 |
| Take-home pay | $5,875 | $5,979 | +$104 |
| Rent | $1,276 | $2,088 | +$812 |
| Getting around | $586 | $599 | +$13 |
| Groceries | $396 | $444 | +$48 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $500 | +$54 |
| Utilities | $248 | $278 | +$30 |
| Everything else | $347 | $389 | +$42 |
| Left over | $2,577 | $1,682 | −$895 |
To break even in Miami, you'd need to earn
$105,500
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. Florida 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.
Miami, FL in full
No income tax, but rents rose faster here than anywhere in the 2020s.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Miami on Miami wages.
Miami → 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.