San Diego, CA → Houston, TX
You'd keep $1,565 more a month in Houston
+$18,780 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | San Diego | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,500 | $7,954 | −$546 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,281 | $1,660 | −$621 |
| Take-home pay | $6,219 | $6,295 | +$75 |
| Rent | $2,291 | $1,199 | −$1,092 |
| Getting around | $650 | $572 | −$78 |
| Groceries | $468 | $380 | −$88 |
| Healthcare | $527 | $428 | −$99 |
| Utilities | $293 | $238 | −$55 |
| Everything else | $410 | $333 | −$77 |
| Left over | $1,581 | $3,146 | +$1,565 |
To break even in Houston, you'd need to earn
$69,000
Household gross, versus $102,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as San Diego does now.
The tax difference alone
+$5,513
A year, in state and local income tax. Texas has no wage income tax.
San Diego, CA in full
The best climate in the country and rents that know it.
Houston, TX in full
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Houston on Houston wages.
Houston → San Diego →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.