Paycheck Calculators for 11 US Cities

Federal income tax and FICA work the same way everywhere in the country. What changes from city to city is everything layered on top: state income tax, city income tax and state payroll programs such as disability insurance and paid family leave. Among the 11 cities on this site, those layers range from nothing at all in Houston, Dallas and Miami to three separate income taxes in New York City.

How paycheck calculators compare across the 11 cities

Single filer, $100,000 salary, no pre-tax deductions, 2026 rules.

The three groups of cities

No tax on wages: Houston, Dallas and Miami have no state or local tax on wages, so take-home pay is highest there. Seattle is close behind; Washington has no wage tax but adds small payroll premiums for Paid Family and Medical Leave and the WA Cares long-term care fund.

Flat taxes: Chicago (Illinois, 4.95%), Atlanta (Georgia, 4.99% for 2026) and Boston (Massachusetts, 5%) apply one rate to income after an exemption or deduction. Massachusetts adds a 4% surtax only above $1,107,750 and a 0.46% PFML deduction.

Graduated taxes: San Francisco and Los Angeles use California's brackets from 1% to 12.3% plus 1.3% SDI on all wages; Washington DC uses brackets from 4% to 10.75%; and New York City residents pay New York State tax plus NYC's own 3.078% to 3.876%.

How to read the numbers

Take-home pay on the same $100,000 salary differs by several thousand dollars a year across these cities. That gap is only part of the story — rent, property tax and insurance also differ — so compare paychecks alongside the cost-of-living and rent tools.

Frequently asked questions