St. Louis, MO → Phoenix, AZ
Moving to Phoenix costs you $79 a month
−$948 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | St. Louis | Phoenix | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $7,583 | $0 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,905 | $1,709 | −$196 |
| Take-home pay | $5,679 | $5,875 | +$196 |
| Rent | $1,144 | $1,276 | +$132 |
| Getting around | $545 | $586 | +$41 |
| Groceries | $368 | $396 | +$28 |
| Healthcare | $414 | $446 | +$32 |
| Utilities | $230 | $248 | +$18 |
| Everything else | $322 | $347 | +$25 |
| Left over | $2,656 | $2,577 | −$79 |
To break even in Phoenix, you'd need to earn
$92,500
Household gross, versus $91,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as St. Louis does now.
The tax difference alone
+$2,350
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.1% in St. Louis, 22.5% in Phoenix.
St. Louis, MO in full
The lowest home prices of any metro over 2 million people.
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Phoenix on Phoenix wages.
Phoenix → St. Louis →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.