Relocation Blindspots

What salary do you need in each city?

The same salary buys very different lives in Dallas and New York. Compare what's left after taxes and rent — from another US city, or from your current salary back home.

To live like $120,000 in Dallas–Fort Worth, you'd need…

US citySalary neededMedian 1BR rent
Houston, TX$115,800$1,070/mo
Austin, TX$119,200$1,270/mo
Dallas–Fort Worth, TX(your city)$120,000$1,320/mo
Phoenix, AZ$122,200$1,190/mo
Denver, CO$132,500$1,550/mo
Seattle, WA$133,900$1,960/mo
Atlanta, GA$136,500$1,670/mo
Miami, FL$143,100$2,640/mo
Chicago, IL$145,800$2,190/mo
Los Angeles, CA$152,600$2,170/mo
San Francisco Bay Area, CA$193,400$4,180/mo
New York City, NY$203,200$4,560/mo

The comparison holds constant what's left each month after taxes and median rent: $6,451/mo in your case.

How this works: US take-home math (2026 federal + FICA + state/local) minus each city's median one-bedroom rent (Zumper, Jul 2026, approximate). In "my current country" mode we use the take-home and rent you enter — your real numbers — converted at the day's ECB reference rate. What differs beyond rent (groceries, transport, healthcare) isn't modeled, so this is a budgeting compass, not a promise.