Richmond, VA → Atlanta, GA
You'd keep $159 more a month in Atlanta
+$1,908 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 234 households moved Richmond → Atlanta (avg AGI $74,068). 128 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Richmond | Atlanta | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $7,896 | +$313 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,923 | $2,000 | +$77 |
| Take-home pay | $5,660 | $5,896 | +$236 |
| Rent | $1,378 | $1,399 | +$21 |
| Getting around | $553 | $580 | +$27 |
| Groceries | $384 | $392 | +$8 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $441 | +$9 |
| Utilities | $240 | $245 | +$5 |
| Everything else | $336 | $343 | +$7 |
| Left over | $2,337 | $2,496 | +$159 |
To break even in Atlanta, you'd need to earn
$92,000
Household gross, versus $91,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Richmond does now.
The tax difference alone
+$191
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.4% in Richmond, 25.3% in Atlanta.
More about Atlanta
Richmond, VA in full
DC's cheaper cousin, two hours from both mountains and ocean.
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 → Richmond →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.