San Francisco, CA → Los Angeles, CA
Moving to Los Angeles costs you $689 a month
−$8,268 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | San Francisco | Los Angeles | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $10,458 | $8,741 | −$1,717 |
| Income and payroll tax | $3,056 | $2,375 | −$681 |
| Take-home pay | $7,403 | $6,366 | −$1,036 |
| Rent | $2,609 | $2,276 | −$333 |
| Getting around | $558 | $674 | +$116 |
| Groceries | $512 | $476 | −$36 |
| Healthcare | $576 | $536 | −$40 |
| Utilities | $320 | $298 | −$22 |
| Everything else | $448 | $417 | −$31 |
| Left over | $2,380 | $1,691 | −$689 |
To break even in Los Angeles, you'd need to earn
$118,500
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
+$1,916
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 29.2% in San Francisco, 27.2% in Los Angeles.
San Francisco, CA in full
Dense, walkable, cold in July, and priced for two incomes.
Los Angeles, CA in full
Perfect weather, deep job market, and a car payment you can't avoid.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Los Angeles on Los Angeles wages.
Los Angeles → 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.