San Francisco, CA → Houston, TX
You'd keep $770 more a month in Houston
+$9,240 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | San Francisco | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $10,458 | $7,961 | −$2,498 |
| Income and payroll tax | $3,056 | $1,662 | −$1,394 |
| Take-home pay | $7,403 | $6,299 | −$1,104 |
| Rent | $2,609 | $1,199 | −$1,410 |
| Getting around | $558 | $572 | +$14 |
| Groceries | $512 | $380 | −$132 |
| Healthcare | $576 | $428 | −$148 |
| Utilities | $320 | $238 | −$82 |
| Everything else | $448 | $333 | −$115 |
| Left over | $2,380 | $3,150 | +$770 |
To break even in Houston, you'd need to earn
$82,500
Household gross, versus $125,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as San Francisco does now.
The tax difference alone
+$7,699
A year, in state and local income tax. Texas has no wage income tax.
San Francisco, CA in full
Dense, walkable, cold in July, and priced for two incomes.
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 Francisco →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.