FinanceCalcSalary Comparison Calculator
Two offers, two salaries, or the same salary in two states — compared the only way that decides anything: after federal tax, FICA, state income tax and your pre-tax deductions. Plus the gross the smaller number would need to match the larger one.
The line-by-line comparison
How this is calculated
Each offer is run through the same engine as the take-home pay calculator, so a figure here matches that page exactly for the same salary, state and status. Three separate taxes apply, and they do not stack the way people expect:
- Federal income tax — progressive brackets on wages after pre-tax deductions, less the standard deduction for the filing status. Only the dollars inside each bracket are taxed at that bracket's rate.
- FICA — 6.2% Social Security up to the annual wage base, then 1.45% Medicare on everything, plus the 0.9% additional Medicare tax above the statutory threshold. A traditional 401(k) deferral does not escape these.
- State income tax — the state's own brackets, deductions and exemptions, or the credit in the states that use one. Nine states levy no wage tax at all, which this page shows as a zero line rather than hiding it.
- The break-even salary — solved numerically here, not estimated: the gross that makes the lower offer's take-home equal the higher one's, which is the number to quote in a negotiation.
What this comparison is not
It compares take-home pay, and nothing else. Cost of living, benefits, commute, remote work, overtime eligibility, pension, equity and the value of a good manager are all outside it, and any one of them can outweigh six figures of salary. Two identical take-home figures in two different cities are not the same standard of living.
It also excludes local income taxes (ten states levy them, and in some cities they exceed the state tax), tax credits, and any phase-out beyond the ones the engine models. Treat it as the arithmetic of the offer letter, which is the part that is knowable, and settle the rest with the people making the offer.
Why the difference in take-home is never the difference in salary
On the defaults in this page — $120,000 in New Jersey against $135,000 in New York, single, 6% deferral — the salaries differ by $15,000 and the take-home figures do not. Two things are working against you. The federal brackets take a larger share of each extra dollar, and New York's income tax takes a larger share of a larger salary, so the marginal rate on the raise is well above the average rate on either salary.
That is not a reason to refuse a raise; it is a reason to quote the right number. An employer offering $135,000 against $120,000 is offering a real improvement, just a smaller one than the salary column suggests. The reciprocal case is the one people miss: moving from a no-tax state to a taxed one for a "raise" can leave you with less. The break-even figure on this page puts an exact salary on that.
State lines matter more than most people assume
Nine states levy no tax on wage income, and the rest range from a flat rate to a top bracket above 10%. For a salary at the defaults, the difference between the lowest-tax and highest-tax states is measured in thousands of dollars a year — comparable to a raise, and it arrives without any negotiation. That is why this page asks for a state on each offer rather than one shared choice: the whole point of comparing two offers is that they are in different places.
Two caveats the page cannot fix for you. Local income taxes sit on top of the state rate in ten states. And property and sales taxes are not income taxes at all, so a comparison built only on income tax flatters states that raise revenue from houses and sales — which is most of the ones with no income tax.
Frequently asked questions
Is a higher salary in a lower-tax state always better?
Better on the numbers here, which are take-home dollars — but that is the whole of the claim. Cost of living is not in this page, and it usually swamps a tax difference. A no-income-tax state that costs 30% more to live in leaves you worse off than a taxed state that costs less, and the comparison is only visible after you price housing, rent, childcare and transport in both places.
Why is the take-home difference smaller than the salary difference?
Because the extra salary is taxed at your marginal rate rather than your average one. The raise moves up the brackets, so the last dollars are the most heavily taxed dollars you earn; FICA and state tax come on top, and the additional Medicare tax begins above a fixed threshold that is not indexed for inflation. A combined marginal rate above 40% is ordinary at these salaries.
What is the break-even salary?
The gross the lower offer would have to pay, in its own state, to leave you with exactly the same take-home as the higher offer. It is usually higher than the higher offer's salary when the lower offer sits in a state with an income tax, and it is the number to put on the table in a negotiation, because at that point the two offers are genuinely equal in the only dimension both sides can agree on.
Does the 401(k) deferral change which offer is better?
The percentage applies to both offers equally, so it does not change the ranking — it changes the take-home figures. The exception worth knowing: Pennsylvania and New Jersey do not follow the federal exclusion for a 401(k) deferral, so the same percentage costs a little more in state tax there than in the other 48 states. Both columns use the same rule, so the comparison stays fair.
Are local income taxes included?
No. Ten states levy county or city income taxes on top of the state rate, and in some cities it is larger than the state tax. Credits are excluded too. A comparison between two cities inside the same state is therefore outside what this page can settle — it can compare states, not neighbourhoods.
Can I compare a bonus or an hourly rate?
Not directly. This page takes an annual salary. To price a bonus, add it to the salary and remember that withholding on a bonus is often a flat 22% supplemental rate, which settles up on your annual return either way. For hourly work, multiply the rate by the hours you actually expect to work — including unpaid overtime, which is the part of an hourly offer that most often goes unexamined.