Moving from Pittsburgh to Houston
You'd keep $658 more a month in Houston
+$7,896 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
Pittsburgh leftover
$2,498
a month after tax and rent
Houston leftover
$3,156
+$658 vs Pittsburgh
In 2022-2023, 266 households moved Pittsburgh → Houston (avg AGI $136,989). 156 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Pittsburgh | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,500 | $7,969 | +$469 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,980 | $1,664 | −$316 |
| Take-home pay | $5,520 | $6,305 | +$785 |
| Rent | $1,191 | $1,199 | +$8 |
| Getting around | $497 | $572 | +$75 |
| Groceries | $368 | $380 | +$12 |
| Healthcare | $414 | $428 | +$14 |
| Utilities | $230 | $238 | +$8 |
| Everything else | $322 | $333 | +$11 |
| Left over | $2,498 | $3,156 | +$658 |
To break even in Houston, you'd need to earn
$84,500
Household gross, versus $90,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Pittsburgh does now.
The tax difference alone
+$5,463
A year, in state and local income tax. Texas has no wage income tax.
More about Houston
Pittsburgh, PA in full
Real city density and a robotics job market, at Rust Belt prices.
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 → Pittsburgh →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Houston than Pittsburgh?
A one-bedroom is about $1,191 in Pittsburgh versus $1,199 in Houston. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $658 a month higher in Houston. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Houston have state income tax?
Houston is in Texas, which has no state income tax.
What changes if you move from Pittsburgh to Houston?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Texas 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.
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.