Seattle vs Winston-Salem leftover
Moving to Winston-Salem costs you $1,100 a month
$2,305/mo leftover in Winston-Salem vs $3,405 in Seattle after tax and rent ($1,100 less). −$13,200 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
Winston-Salem leftover
$2,305
−$1,100 vs Seattle
Compare Seattle to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Seattle.
Monthly gap
Seattle → Winston-Salem
$1,100
less / month in Seattle
$2,305 in Winston-Salem · $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
In 2022-2023, 25 households moved Seattle → Winston-Salem (avg AGI $104,480). 30 went the other way. The whole move →
−$1,100 / mo
| Per month | Seattle | Winston-Salem | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $9,375 | $6,914 | −$2,461 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,081 | $1,600 | −$481 |
| Take-home pay | $7,294 | $5,314 | −$1,980 |
| Rent | $1,758 | $1,047 | −$711 |
| Getting around | $493 | $567 | +$74 |
| Groceries | $452 | $385 | −$67 |
| Healthcare | $508 | $433 | −$75 |
| Utilities | $283 | $241 | −$42 |
| Everything else | $395 | $337 | −$58 |
| Left over | $3,405 | $2,305 | −$1,100 |
To break even in Winston-Salem, you'd need to earn
$103,000
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
−$2,984
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.2% in Seattle, 23.1% in Winston-Salem.
More about Winston-Salem
Seattle, WA in full
No state income tax and high wages, offset by home prices and 150 sunny days.
Winston-Salem, NC in full
A flat 4.25% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,246 and 221 sunny days; commutes average 24 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Winston-Salem on Winston-Salem wages.
Winston-Salem → Seattle →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Winston-Salem than Seattle?
A one-bedroom is about $1,758 in Seattle versus $1,047 in Winston-Salem. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $1,100 a month lower in Winston-Salem. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Winston-Salem have state income tax?
Winston-Salem is in North Carolina, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Seattle to Winston-Salem?
Take-home pay is recalculated under North Carolina 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 Winston-Salem 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.