San Diego, CA → Tucson, AZ
You'd keep $925 more a month in Tucson
+$11,100 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 546 households moved San Diego → Tucson (avg AGI $80,152). 428 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | San Diego | Tucson | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,500 | $6,940 | −$1,560 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,281 | $1,502 | −$779 |
| Take-home pay | $6,219 | $5,438 | −$781 |
| Rent | $2,291 | $1,022 | −$1,269 |
| Getting around | $650 | $547 | −$103 |
| Groceries | $468 | $376 | −$92 |
| Healthcare | $527 | $423 | −$104 |
| Utilities | $293 | $235 | −$58 |
| Everything else | $410 | $329 | −$81 |
| Left over | $1,581 | $2,506 | +$925 |
To break even in Tucson, you'd need to earn
$67,000
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
+$3,796
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 26.8% in San Diego, 21.6% in Tucson.
More about Tucson
San Diego, CA in full
The best climate in the country and rents that know it.
Tucson, AZ in full
Phoenix weather and hiking at a serious discount, on lower wages.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Tucson on Tucson wages.
Tucson → 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.