Syracuse vs Elmira leftover
You'd keep $108 more a month in Elmira
$2,369/mo leftover in Elmira vs $2,261 in Syracuse after tax and rent ($108 more). +$1,296 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Syracuse leftover
$2,261
a month after tax and rent
Elmira leftover
$2,369
+$108 vs Syracuse
Compare Syracuse to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Syracuse.
Monthly gap
Syracuse → Elmira
$108
more / month in Elmira
$2,369 in Elmira · $2,261 in Syracuse · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
30 went the other way. The whole move →
+$108 / mo
| Per month | Syracuse | Elmira | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,292 | $7,011 | −$280 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,814 | $1,715 | −$99 |
| Take-home pay | $5,478 | $5,296 | −$182 |
| Rent | $1,236 | $898 | −$338 |
| Getting around | $543 | $590 | +$47 |
| Groceries | $397 | $397 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $446 | $0 |
| Utilities | $248 | $248 | $0 |
| Everything else | $347 | $347 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,261 | $2,369 | +$108 |
To break even in Elmira, you'd need to earn
$82,000
Household gross, versus $87,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Syracuse does now.
The tax difference alone
+$185
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.9% in Syracuse, 24.5% in Elmira.
More about Elmira
Syracuse, NY in full
State income tax topping out at 9.65%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,472 and 159 sunny days; commutes average 22 minutes.
Elmira, NY in full
State income tax topping out at 9.65%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,069 and 164 sunny days; commutes average 20 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Elmira on Elmira wages.
Elmira → Syracuse →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Elmira than Syracuse?
A one-bedroom is about $1,236 in Syracuse versus $898 in Elmira. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $108 a month higher in Elmira. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Elmira have state income tax?
Elmira is in New York, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Syracuse to Elmira?
Take-home pay is recalculated under New York 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 Syracuse and Elmira 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.