Riverside vs Fresno leftover
You'd keep $147 more a month in Fresno
$1,533/mo leftover in Fresno vs $1,386 in Riverside after tax and rent ($147 more). +$1,764 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Riverside leftover
$1,386
a month after tax and rent
Fresno leftover
$1,533
+$147 vs Riverside
Compare Riverside to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Riverside.
Monthly gap
Riverside → Fresno
$147
more / month in Fresno
$1,533 in Fresno · $1,386 in Riverside · 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, 502 households moved Riverside → Fresno (avg AGI $47,432). 420 went the other way. The whole move →
+$147 / mo
| Per month | Riverside | Fresno | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,333 | $6,655 | −$679 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,826 | $1,562 | −$264 |
| Take-home pay | $5,507 | $5,093 | −$414 |
| Rent | $1,940 | $1,356 | −$584 |
| Getting around | $644 | $633 | −$11 |
| Groceries | $424 | $433 | +$9 |
| Healthcare | $477 | $487 | +$10 |
| Utilities | $265 | $271 | +$6 |
| Everything else | $371 | $379 | +$8 |
| Left over | $1,386 | $1,533 | +$147 |
To break even in Fresno, you'd need to earn
$77,000
Household gross, versus $88,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Riverside does now.
The tax difference alone
+$757
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.9% in Riverside, 23.5% in Fresno.
More about Fresno
Riverside, CA in full
Southern California's affordable option, paid for with a 33-minute commute.
Fresno, CA in full
State income tax topping out at 12.3%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,614 and 261 sunny days; commutes average 24 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Fresno on Fresno wages.
Fresno → Riverside →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Fresno than Riverside?
A one-bedroom is about $1,940 in Riverside versus $1,356 in Fresno. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $147 a month higher in Fresno. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Fresno have state income tax?
Fresno is in California, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Riverside to Fresno?
Take-home pay is recalculated under California 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 Riverside and Fresno 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.