Raleigh vs Winston-Salem leftover
Moving to Winston-Salem costs you $441 a month
$2,296/mo leftover in Winston-Salem vs $2,737 in Raleigh after tax and rent ($441 less). −$5,292 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Raleigh leftover
$2,737
a month after tax and rent
Winston-Salem leftover
$2,296
−$441 vs Raleigh
Compare Raleigh to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Raleigh.
Monthly gap
Raleigh → Winston-Salem
$441
less / month in Raleigh
$2,296 in Winston-Salem · $2,737 in Raleigh · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 385 households moved Raleigh → Winston-Salem (avg AGI $89,161). 449 went the other way. The whole move →
−$441 / mo
| Per month | Raleigh | Winston-Salem | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,875 | $6,900 | −$975 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,926 | $1,595 | −$330 |
| Take-home pay | $5,949 | $5,305 | −$644 |
| Rent | $1,252 | $1,047 | −$205 |
| Getting around | $568 | $567 | −$1 |
| Groceries | $384 | $385 | +$1 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $433 | +$1 |
| Utilities | $240 | $241 | +$1 |
| Everything else | $336 | $337 | +$1 |
| Left over | $2,737 | $2,296 | −$441 |
To break even in Winston-Salem, you'd need to earn
$91,000
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
+$497
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.5% in Raleigh, 23.1% in Winston-Salem.
More about Winston-Salem
Raleigh, NC in full
Research Triangle salaries, low taxes, and not much to do downtown.
Winston-Salem, NC in full
A flat 4.25% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,246 and 221 sunny days; commutes average 24 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Winston-Salem on Winston-Salem wages.
Winston-Salem → Raleigh →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Winston-Salem than Raleigh?
A one-bedroom is about $1,252 in Raleigh versus $1,047 in Winston-Salem. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $441 a month lower in Winston-Salem. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Winston-Salem have state income tax?
Winston-Salem is in North Carolina, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Raleigh to Winston-Salem?
Take-home pay is recalculated under North Carolina 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.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Raleigh and Winston-Salem moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
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.