Planning to move or relocate?
Your side hustle's tax bill depends heavily on where you live. Compare any two cities side by side — taxes, cost of living, and quality of life — or see every state and metro at a glance on the tax map.
01Your numbers
Everything stays in your browser — nothing is sent or saved.
02Head to head — taxes in two cities, same income
Pick any two cities. You'll see the full picture for both — tax stacks, tax across income levels, and everything beyond taxes: cost of living, housing, schools, and healthcare. Cost-of-living values are approximate published-index benchmarks (100 = U.S. average) — verify locally before deciding.
03The tax map — every state at a glance
Your total annual tax (federal + self-employment + state + local) if you earned the same income in each state, grouped into four bands: blue is the lowest-tax quarter of states, then green, then orange, with red the highest-tax quarter. States with a major metro that levies its own local income tax are marked — a dot on the map, or a corner square on smaller screens; hover or tap it to see that metro's higher combined bill.
04Tax burden across income — every taxed city
State and local tax as income rises across the range you choose (up to the Max income setting), for every municipality with a local income tax. Federal and self-employment tax are identical everywhere, so this view shows just the part that varies by location — which is what actually separates the cities. Each line is colored by tax burden using the same four bands as the map above (blue lowest, red highest). Tap a name in the legend to hide or isolate it, or switch the Y axis to total tax or effective rate. Income is split into W-2 and 1099 in the same proportion you entered above, so business-income taxes (like Portland's) apply only to the self-employment share.
Tip: the legend is scrollable and tappable — isolate a few cities to compare them clearly.
Approximations. Uses 2026 federal and state parameters: full graduated state income-tax brackets and per-state standard deductions (2026, from the Tax Foundation), SE tax with Social Security wage-base coordination, 0.9% Additional Medicare, 3.8% NIIT, and §199A QBI with SSTB phase-out. A few states with credit-based deductions or tax-benefit recapture are approximated. Local taxes are modeled for the jurisdictions in this database; cities listed "no local income tax" may still levy gross-receipts, property, or other taxes not shown (e.g., San Francisco, Seattle payroll taxes on businesses, Washington's capital-gains tax). Cost of living, property tax, and sales tax are not part of this comparison.
This is an educational model, not tax, legal, or investment advice. Verify results with a CPA or tax professional before acting on a move.