Seattle vs St. Cloud leftover
Moving to St. Cloud costs you $808 a month
$2,597/mo leftover in St. Cloud vs $3,405 in Seattle after tax and rent ($808 less). −$9,696 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Seattle leftover
$3,405
a month after tax and rent
St. Cloud leftover
$2,597
−$808 vs Seattle
Compare Seattle to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Seattle.
Monthly gap
Seattle → St. Cloud
$808
less / month in Seattle
$2,597 in St. Cloud · $3,405 in Seattle · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
−$808 / mo
| Per month | Seattle | St. Cloud | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $9,375 | $7,141 | −$2,234 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,081 | $1,782 | −$299 |
| Take-home pay | $7,294 | $5,359 | −$1,935 |
| Rent | $1,758 | $986 | −$772 |
| Getting around | $493 | $500 | +$7 |
| Groceries | $452 | $352 | −$100 |
| Healthcare | $508 | $396 | −$112 |
| Utilities | $283 | $220 | −$63 |
| Everything else | $395 | $308 | −$87 |
| Left over | $3,405 | $2,597 | −$808 |
To break even in St. Cloud, you'd need to earn
$101,000
Household gross, versus $112,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Seattle does now.
The tax difference alone
−$4,363
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.2% in Seattle, 25.0% in St. Cloud.
More about St. Cloud
Seattle, WA in full
No state income tax and high wages, offset by home prices and 150 sunny days.
St. Cloud, MN in full
State income tax topping out at 9.85%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,174 and 191 sunny days; commutes average 22 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from St. Cloud on St. Cloud wages.
St. Cloud → Seattle →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in St. Cloud than Seattle?
A one-bedroom is about $1,758 in Seattle versus $986 in St. Cloud. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $808 a month lower in St. Cloud. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does St. Cloud have state income tax?
St. Cloud is in Minnesota, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Seattle to St. Cloud?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Minnesota tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Seattle and St. Cloud moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
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.