St. Cloud vs Rochester leftover
You'd keep $418 more a month in Rochester
$3,005/mo leftover in Rochester vs $2,587 in St. Cloud after tax and rent ($418 more). +$5,016 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
St. Cloud leftover
$2,587
a month after tax and rent
Rochester leftover
$3,005
+$418 vs St. Cloud
Compare St. Cloud to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to St. Cloud.
Monthly gap
St. Cloud → Rochester
$418
more / month in Rochester
$3,005 in Rochester · $2,587 in St. Cloud · 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, 31 households moved St. Cloud → Rochester (avg AGI $41,065). 32 went the other way. The whole move →
+$418 / mo
| Per month | St. Cloud | Rochester | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,125 | $8,263 | +$1,138 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,776 | $2,191 | +$415 |
| Take-home pay | $5,349 | $6,072 | +$723 |
| Rent | $986 | $1,330 | +$344 |
| Getting around | $500 | $461 | −$39 |
| Groceries | $352 | $352 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $396 | $396 | $0 |
| Utilities | $220 | $220 | $0 |
| Everything else | $308 | $308 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,587 | $3,005 | +$418 |
To break even in Rochester, you'd need to earn
$91,500
Household gross, versus $85,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as St. Cloud does now.
The tax difference alone
−$929
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.9% in St. Cloud, 26.5% in Rochester.
More about Rochester
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.
Rochester, MN in full
State income tax topping out at 9.85%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,583 and 195 sunny days; commutes average 21 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Rochester on Rochester wages.
Rochester → St. Cloud →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Rochester than St. Cloud?
A one-bedroom is about $986 in St. Cloud versus $1,330 in Rochester. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $418 a month higher in Rochester. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Rochester have state income tax?
Rochester is in Minnesota, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from St. Cloud to Rochester?
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 St. Cloud and Rochester 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.