San Jose, CA → Atlanta, GA
You'd keep $554 more a month in Atlanta
+$6,648 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 308 households moved San Jose → Atlanta (avg AGI $161,386). 387 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | San Jose | Atlanta | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $10,625 | $7,891 | −$2,734 |
| Income and payroll tax | $3,124 | $1,998 | −$1,125 |
| Take-home pay | $7,501 | $5,892 | −$1,609 |
| Rent | $2,990 | $1,399 | −$1,591 |
| Getting around | $746 | $580 | −$166 |
| Groceries | $504 | $392 | −$112 |
| Healthcare | $567 | $441 | −$126 |
| Utilities | $315 | $245 | −$70 |
| Everything else | $441 | $343 | −$98 |
| Left over | $1,938 | $2,492 | +$554 |
To break even in Atlanta, you'd need to earn
$84,500
Household gross, versus $127,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as San Jose does now.
The tax difference alone
+$3,593
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 29.4% in San Jose, 25.3% in Atlanta.
More about Atlanta
San Jose, CA in full
The highest salaries in the country, almost entirely cancelled out by the highest rents.
Atlanta, GA in full
Big-city pay at mid-market housing costs, with a 31-minute average commute.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Atlanta on Atlanta wages.
Atlanta → San Jose →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.