Rochester vs Duluth leftover
Moving to Duluth costs you $517 a month
$2,480/mo leftover in Duluth vs $2,997 in Rochester after tax and rent ($517 less). −$6,204 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Rochester leftover
$2,997
a month after tax and rent
Duluth leftover
$2,480
−$517 vs Rochester
Compare Rochester to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Rochester.
Monthly gap
Rochester → Duluth
$517
less / month in Rochester
$2,480 in Duluth · $2,997 in Rochester · 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, 51 households moved Rochester → Duluth (avg AGI $70,059). 29 went the other way. The whole move →
−$517 / mo
| Per month | Rochester | Duluth | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,250 | $7,051 | −$1,199 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,186 | $1,749 | −$437 |
| Take-home pay | $6,064 | $5,302 | −$762 |
| Rent | $1,330 | $1,049 | −$281 |
| Getting around | $461 | $501 | +$40 |
| Groceries | $352 | $351 | −$1 |
| Healthcare | $396 | $395 | −$1 |
| Utilities | $220 | $219 | −$1 |
| Everything else | $308 | $307 | −$1 |
| Left over | $2,997 | $2,480 | −$517 |
To break even in Duluth, you'd need to earn
$94,500
Household gross, versus $99,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Rochester does now.
The tax difference alone
+$978
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 26.5% in Rochester, 24.8% in Duluth.
More about Duluth
Rochester, MN in full
State income tax topping out at 9.85%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,583 and 195 sunny days; commutes average 21 minutes.
Duluth, MN in full
State income tax topping out at 9.85%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,249 and 158 sunny days; commutes average 21 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Duluth on Duluth wages.
Duluth → Rochester →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Duluth than Rochester?
A one-bedroom is about $1,330 in Rochester versus $1,049 in Duluth. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $517 a month lower in Duluth. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Duluth have state income tax?
Duluth is in Minnesota, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Rochester to Duluth?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Minnesota 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 Rochester and Duluth 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.