Moving States Take-Home Pay Comparison Calculator

What Actually Changes in Your Paycheck When You Move States

Less than you might think. Three of the four big withholding lines do not move at all. Federal income tax follows the same 2026 brackets everywhere, Social Security is 6.2% on wages up to $184,500, and Medicare is 1.45% on every dollar (plus 0.9% above $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for married filing jointly). Congress sets those, not your new state capital.

The two lines that do change are state income tax and state payroll programs. State income tax is the obvious one, ranging from nothing at all to over 13% at the top of California's schedule. State payroll programs are the line people forget: disability insurance, paid family and medical leave, long-term care, and in three states an employee share of unemployment tax. Add those two together and you have accounted for the entire difference in your paycheck.

Here is the same $75,000 salary, filing single, in four states for 2026:

One caveat on that New York row: it leaves out New York City's local income tax, which would add roughly 3% for a city resident. More on local taxes further down.

Why two "no income tax" states can still pay differently

Texas and Washington both charge $0 in state income tax on wages, so a calculator that only looks at income tax calls it a tie. It is not a tie. Washington withholds WA Cares at 0.58% of every dollar with no wage cap, plus the PFML employee share of about 0.807% up to $184,500. At $75,000 that comes to $1,040 a year, which means Texas pays about $1,040 more for identical work at identical pay. Washington taxes capital gains as well, though not wages, and New Hampshire's old interest and dividends tax has now been fully phased out.

Moving From California to Texas (and Other Common Moves)

California to Texas is the move behind most searches for this comparison. The gap widens as income climbs, because California's schedule is progressive and Texas has no schedule at all. Filing single, 2026 rules, payroll programs included:

The gain grows as a share of pay, not just in dollars: 6.4% of salary at $75,000, 9.0% at $200,000. California's brackets explain part of that. The Social Security cap explains the rest. Above $184,500 the 6.2% line stops growing in both states, so more of every extra dollar is left exposed to the one tax that actually differs.

A few other moves at $100,000 filing single, same 2026 rules: New York to Florida gains about $5,904 a year, Illinois to Tennessee about $4,950, and Oregon to Washington about $7,785. New Jersey to Pennsylvania gains about $1,695, which is the useful reminder here. Moving between two taxing states is usually a small adjustment, not a windfall.

State-by-state detail lives on the individual pages: California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Washington.

The Year You Move: Part-Year Residency, Two Returns, and Withholding

This calculator models a full year in each state, which is the right way to compare two places you might live. The year you actually pack the truck works differently. You are typically a part-year resident of both states and file two part-year returns, each covering the income you earned while living there. If any income gets taxed by both, the resident state usually issues a credit so you are not hit twice.

On the payroll side, timing is the whole game. Give your employer the new address the day the move is effective, file the new state's withholding certificate, and read the next two pay stubs. Payroll systems mis-code the first check after an address change more often than you would expect, and a stub still showing the old state's withholding is a five-minute fix in week two. It is a much bigger headache in April. More detail in Moving to a New State: Paycheck Impact and Multi-State Withholding: Live vs. Work.

Two things this tool leaves out on purpose. There is no local income tax layer, so New York City, Yonkers, most Ohio municipalities, Pennsylvania's local earned income tax, Maryland county piggyback rates, Kansas City, St. Louis, Detroit, and the Portland metro taxes are all missing. Those can add 1% to 4%. It also assumes you live and work in the same state, so reciprocity agreements and the convenience of the employer rule that a few states apply to remote workers are not modeled.

Take-Home Pay Is Only Half the Move

A $10,000 tax win disappears if rent goes up $900 a month. Sales tax, property tax, insurance, and housing all vary by state, and none of them show up on a pay stub. Texas has no income tax and some of the highest effective property tax rates in the country. Oregon has no sales tax and a top income tax rate near 9.9%. Every state gets paid one way or another. Compare the whole picture with the Cost of Living Salary Adjustment Calculator, and if the move comes with a job offer attached, run both packages through the Job Offer Comparator.

If what you really want to know is "what salary do I need in the new state to net what I net today," the Reverse Paycheck Calculator answers that directly. For the effective rate column above, see the Marginal vs. Effective Tax Rate Calculator.

Further reading: States With No Income Tax, State Paycheck Protections: PFML and FAMLI, $100k Take-Home Pay by State, and Salary Needed to Net Your Target by State.