Should I move?
Pick where you are and where you're considering, enter your salary, and get a straight answer: what you'd actually keep after taxes and cost of living, plus the lifestyle trade-offs that numbers alone miss.
Take-home is federal + FICA + state income tax for a single filer (standard deduction). Real spending power divides take-home by the metro's cost-of-living level. See the methodology.
Moving to Austin comes out ahead — about $17,470/yr more real spending power.
Los Angeles take-home
$79,679
real value $70,161
Austin take-home
$85,936
real value $87,631
| Lifestyle | Los Angeles | Austin |
|---|---|---|
| Livability /100 | 51 | 83 |
| Median rent | $2,114/mo | $1,784/mo |
| Median home value | $908,500 | $482,800 |
| Avg temperature | 66°F | 68°F |
| Disaster risk /$10k | $33 | $11 |
| Air quality (AQI) | 80 | 52 |
| Commute (min) | 31 | 28 |
| Fair/poor health | 22.7% | 16.8% |