Raleigh, NC → Atlanta, GA
Moving to Atlanta costs you $258 a month
−$3,096 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 542 households moved Raleigh → Atlanta (avg AGI $81,696). 549 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Raleigh | Atlanta | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,875 | $7,875 | $0 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,926 | $1,993 | +$67 |
| Take-home pay | $5,949 | $5,882 | −$67 |
| Rent | $1,249 | $1,399 | +$150 |
| Getting around | $568 | $580 | +$12 |
| Groceries | $384 | $392 | +$8 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $441 | +$9 |
| Utilities | $240 | $245 | +$5 |
| Everything else | $336 | $343 | +$7 |
| Left over | $2,740 | $2,482 | −$258 |
To break even in Atlanta, you'd need to earn
$99,000
Household gross, versus $94,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Raleigh does now.
The tax difference alone
−$807
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.5% in Raleigh, 25.3% in Atlanta.
More about Atlanta
Raleigh, NC in full
Research Triangle salaries, low taxes, and not much to do downtown.
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 → Raleigh →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.