Take-home pay depends on where you live
Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare are the same everywhere, but state income tax ranges from nothing to more than 10% at the top, several states add employee payroll taxes for disability or paid family leave, and some cities and counties levy their own income tax. This calculator applies all of them for a resident of a metro’s principal city using the same verified 2026 tax engine as our budget tools.
Worked example: $75,000 in Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD
| Tax | Annual |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax ($75,000 − standard deduction, 2026 brackets) | $7,670 |
| Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) | $5,738 |
| Pennsylvania income tax | $2,303 |
| Pennsylvania payroll taxes | $53 |
| Local income tax (Philadelphia) | $2,801 |
| Take-home pay | $56,436 ($4,703/mo) |
The same $75,000 in the largest metros
For a single filer, here is the take-home pay on $75,000 in the nine most populous metros we cover, all under the same 2026 federal rules:
| Metro | State + payroll + local tax | Take-home / month |
|---|---|---|
| New York, NY-NJ | $6,280 | $4,609 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $3,640 | $4,829 |
| Chicago, IL-IN | $3,568 | $4,835 |
| Dallas, TX | $0 | $5,133 |
| Houston, TX | $0 | $5,133 |
| Atlanta, GA | $2,994 | $4,883 |
| Washington, DC-VA-MD-WV | $3,500 | $4,841 |
| Miami, FL | $0 | $5,133 |
| Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $5,156 | $4,703 |
Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare are identical in every row ($13,408 on $75,000), so every difference comes from state and local rules.
State payroll taxes
Some states fund disability, paid family leave or unemployment insurance partly through employee payroll deductions. In our 2026 data these employee contributions apply in 15 states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington. They are figured on each earner’s wages up to the program’s wage base or cap, and they show as separate lines in the result.
Two earners
For couples, federal and state income tax are figured on the joint return, but Social Security, state payroll taxes and wage-based local taxes are figured on each earner’s pay. A two-earner couple can therefore pay more Social Security in total than a one-earner couple with the same combined income, because each spouse has their own wage base.
How local income tax is chosen
A metro spans many cities and counties, and local income taxes apply by where you live (and in some places where you work). We apply the tax of the metro’s principal city — the first city in the federal metro name — for a resident. In Maryland and Indiana, where the local tax is set by county of residence, we use the county of the principal city. In Portland, Oregon, the Metro Supportive Housing Services tax and the Multnomah County Preschool for All tax both apply, but only above high income thresholds. Where a city levies a tax that is not in our verified 2026 data (for example, municipal earned-income taxes across Pennsylvania and many Ohio and Michigan cities), the result says so rather than guessing.
What is and isn’t included
- Included: 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction, the Child Tax Credit (nonrefundable part), Social Security up to the wage base for each earner, Medicare and the Additional Medicare Tax, state income tax with each state’s deductions, exemptions and credits as modeled, employee payroll taxes such as California SDI or New Jersey FLI, and mandatory local income tax.
- Not included: 401(k) and other pre-tax deductions, itemized deductions, the Earned Income Tax Credit and other credits, refundable credits received at filing, and income other than wages.
Two adults are treated as married filing jointly. For pre-tax retirement and health deductions and per-paycheck amounts, use a paycheck calculator. To see how taxes combine with rent, childcare and other costs, use the cost of living calculator.