Comparing Two Job Offers in Different States by Take-Home

This article is general information, not tax or financial advice. Tax rules change, individual situations vary, and every figure here is an estimate. Confirm specifics with a qualified tax professional and your offer letters before making a decision.

Why the offer-letter salary lies

You get two offers. One says $115,000 in Austin, the other says $120,000 in San Francisco. The bigger number looks like the better deal.

It usually isn’t that simple. The number on an offer letter is gross pay, the amount before anything comes out. What actually lands in your bank account is net take-home, and that figure depends heavily on where you work.

Texas has no state income tax. California has the highest top marginal rate in the country at 13.3%. Once state tax, federal tax, and FICA do their work, the “smaller” Texas offer can deposit more cash than the “bigger” California one.

Comparing job offers by gross salary is like comparing two cars by sticker price while ignoring fuel economy, insurance, and repairs. The headline number tells you almost nothing about what you keep.

The fix is a three-layer comparison: net take-home first, then cost of living, then total compensation and the intangibles a calculator can’t see. Work through all three and the right answer usually gets obvious.

Step 1: Calculate true net take-home for each offer

Start by turning each gross salary into a net number. Four things reduce your paycheck:

Federal income tax, which uses progressive brackets and is the same no matter which state you pick.
State income tax, which ranges from 0% to roughly 13.3% depending on the state.
FICA, which is 6.2% for Social Security on wages up to the $184,500 wage base in 2026, plus 1.45% for Medicare on all wages. Earnings above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly) pick up an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare tax.
Local or city income tax, where it applies, which stacks on top of state tax.

Federal tax and FICA stay roughly constant across offers at the same salary, so the state line is where the offers diverge. That divergence is bigger than most people expect.

At $100,000 to $120,000 a year, the take-home gap between a no-income-tax state and a high-tax state often runs $5,000 to $10,000 or more annually. A $5,000 higher gross in a high-tax state can quietly turn into less money in hand than a lower gross somewhere with no income tax.

The cleanest way to do this is a calculator that covers all 50 states plus DC and lets you set the right state, filing status, W-4 details, and deductions for each offer. Stub44 is built for exactly this. Model each offer as its own saved profile, then compare the net numbers side by side instead of redoing the math every time an offer changes. You can download it here if you want both offers living next to each other while you negotiate.

Once you have two net annual figures, you have a real starting point. But net pay still isn’t the whole story.

Step 2: Adjust for cost of living

Equal take-home does not mean equal lifestyle. A dollar in Boise buys far more than a dollar in Manhattan, so two offers with identical net pay can leave you feeling rich in one city and stretched thin in the other.

Housing drives most of this. It is the single largest household expense, about 33.4% of average annual spending ($26,266 of $78,535) in 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Housing and transportation together exceed 50% of household spending. The rent or mortgage difference between two cities often outweighs the entire state tax difference.

So add a second lens. After you have net take-home for each offer, run both through a cost-of-living index or calculator that adjusts for housing, groceries, transportation, and other local costs. The output is a purchasing-power number: what each offer is actually worth once you account for what life costs there.

This is where a comparison can flip. Suppose Offer A nets $78,000 in a high-cost coastal metro and Offer B nets $72,000 in a mid-size inland city. On net pay alone, A wins by $6,000. But if housing and daily costs run 30% higher in A’s city, B’s lower number can stretch much further. The smaller paycheck wins on lifestyle.

Cost of living is also where no-income-tax states get complicated, which leads to the next layer.

Step 3: Add total compensation and intangibles

Salary is only part of what an employer pays you. The benefits package can move a decision by thousands of dollars, and most online calculators ignore it entirely.

Quantify these line items for each offer:

401(k) match. A 6% match on a $110,000 salary is $6,600 a year in free money. A job with no match starts further behind than its salary suggests.
Health insurance. Compare monthly premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximums. A $300/month premium difference is $3,600 a year before you’ve used the plan once.
Paid time off. Three weeks versus five weeks is real compensation. Value a PTO day at roughly your daily gross rate.
Bonus and equity. Signing bonuses, annual targets, and stock or options all count, though discount equity for risk and vesting.
Relocation package. Moving across state lines is expensive. A generous relocation stipend can be worth several thousand dollars up front.

Then weigh the things you can’t put a clean dollar figure on: commute length, remote flexibility, growth potential, team quality, job security, and how the location fits your life. These intangibles often decide close calls, and a close call is exactly what you’ll have once the first two layers are done.

A simple way to keep this honest is to total the quantifiable extras and fold them into each offer’s adjusted value, then list the intangibles separately as tiebreakers.

Special cases: remote work, multi-state, and city taxes

A few situations break the clean two-state comparison, so flag them early.

Remote work across state lines. If you live in one state and work remotely for an employer based in another, your tax picture gets murkier. Some states apply convenience of the employer rules, which can mean you owe tax to both your home state and the employer’s state. Credits usually prevent full double taxation, but the net effect and the paperwork vary. Check both states’ rules before treating a remote offer as tax-simple.

Local and city income taxes. State tax isn’t the only local levy. New York City, many Maryland counties, and various Ohio and Pennsylvania localities charge income tax that stacks on top of the state rate. An offer in a city with a local income tax can take home less than the state-level math alone implies, so confirm the specific jurisdiction.

No-income-tax states. Nine states levy no broad-based personal income tax in 2026: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. That’s a real advantage, but these states often recover revenue through higher sales tax or property tax. A no-income-tax state does not automatically mean more money in your pocket once you account for those costs and the local cost of living.

State rate changes. Rates move. Eight states cut individual income tax rates effective January 1, 2026, including North Carolina (4.25% to 3.99%) and Ohio shifting toward a flat rate. If an offer hinges on a tight tax margin, use current-year figures rather than last year’s.

Putting it together: a side-by-side comparison worksheet

Here is a repeatable checklist for any two-offer decision. Run both offers through every row.

| Factor | Offer A | Offer B | | --- | --- | --- | | Gross salary | | | | Federal + FICA withholding | | | | State income tax | | | | Local / city income tax | | | | Net take-home (annual) | | | | Cost-of-living adjustment | | | | Purchasing-power value | | | | 401(k) match (annual $) | | | | Health premiums (annual $) | | | | PTO value | | | | Bonus / equity | | | | Relocation package | | | | Adjusted total value | | | | Intangibles (notes) | | |

Fill in the first block with a 50-state net pay calculator, the second with a cost-of-living index, and the rest from your offer letters and benefits summaries. The bolded rows are your decision points.

The practical advantage of saved profiles is that offers change. A counteroffer, a revised bonus, a different start date: each tweak ripples through the math. Modeling each offer as a Stub44 profile (state, W-4, deductions, and a flat-percentage mode for edge cases) means you update one number and instantly see the side-by-side shift, without rebuilding the whole comparison. For more guides like this, browse the Stub44 blog.

Compare by what you keep, adjust for what life costs, then add up everything beyond base pay. Do that and the bigger salary stops fooling you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I compare job offers by gross salary or take-home pay?

Compare them by take-home pay. The gross salary on an offer letter hides differences in state income tax, FICA, and local or city taxes, so two equal grosses can leave very different amounts in your bank account depending on where you work.

How much can two identical salaries differ in take-home between states?

At $100,000 to $120,000 a year, two identical salaries can differ by roughly $5,000 to $10,000 or more annually between a no-income-tax state and a high-tax state. The gap widens as income rises and as you add local income taxes on top of state tax.

Which states have no income tax in 2026?

Nine states levy no broad-based personal income tax in 2026: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Washington still taxes long-term capital gains over a threshold, and New Hampshire finished phasing out its interest and dividends tax for 2025.

Does a no-income-tax state always mean more money in my pocket?

No. States without an income tax often make up the revenue through higher sales tax or property tax, and a higher cost of living can erase the gain. You have to weigh net take-home against the full cost of living in each location, not just the tax line.

How do I factor cost of living into a salary comparison?

First calculate net take-home for each offer, then apply a cost-of-living index or calculator to adjust both numbers to a common baseline. Housing is the largest swing factor, so pay closest attention to rent or mortgage costs in each location.

What taxes come out of my paycheck besides federal income tax?

Besides federal income tax, your paycheck is reduced by state income tax (0% to 13.3% depending on the state), FICA, which is 6.2% Social Security plus 1.45% Medicare, and in some places a local or city income tax. Higher earners also pay an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare tax above certain thresholds.

How are taxes handled if I work remotely for a company in another state?

It depends on your residency and your employer’s state rules. Some states apply convenience of the employer rules, which can mean you owe tax to both your home state and the employer’s state, with a credit to avoid full double taxation. Check both states’ rules before assuming a remote offer is tax-simple.

Beyond pay, what should I weigh when comparing two offers?

Look at the 401(k) match, health insurance premiums and deductibles, paid time off, signing or annual bonus, relocation package, commute, equity, growth potential, and overall quality of life. These often swing a decision by thousands of dollars or more once you total them up.