Stockton vs Riverside leftover
Moving to Riverside costs you $250 a month
$1,392/mo leftover in Riverside vs $1,642 in Stockton after tax and rent ($250 less). −$3,000 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Stockton leftover
$1,642
a month after tax and rent
Riverside leftover
$1,392
−$250 vs Stockton
Compare Stockton to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Stockton.
Monthly gap
Stockton → Riverside
$250
less / month in Stockton
$1,392 in Riverside · $1,642 in Stockton · 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, 234 households moved Stockton → Riverside (avg AGI $66,239). 234 went the other way. The whole move →
−$250 / mo
| Per month | Stockton | Riverside | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,375 | $7,344 | −$31 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,843 | $1,830 | −$12 |
| Take-home pay | $5,532 | $5,513 | −$19 |
| Rent | $1,674 | $1,940 | +$266 |
| Getting around | $646 | $644 | −$2 |
| Groceries | $433 | $424 | −$9 |
| Healthcare | $487 | $477 | −$10 |
| Utilities | $271 | $265 | −$6 |
| Everything else | $379 | $371 | −$8 |
| Left over | $1,642 | $1,392 | −$250 |
To break even in Riverside, you'd need to earn
$93,000
Household gross, versus $88,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Stockton does now.
The tax difference alone
+$35
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.0% in Stockton, 24.9% in Riverside.
More about Riverside
Stockton, CA in full
State income tax topping out at 12.3%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,993 and 251 sunny days; commutes average 35 minutes.
Riverside, CA in full
Southern California's affordable option, paid for with a 33-minute commute.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Riverside on Riverside wages.
Riverside → Stockton →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Riverside than Stockton?
A one-bedroom is about $1,674 in Stockton versus $1,940 in Riverside. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $250 a month lower in Riverside. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Riverside have state income tax?
Riverside is in California, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Stockton to Riverside?
Take-home pay is recalculated under California 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 Stockton and Riverside 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.