Paycheck calculator › After taxes and rent › Rankings › $40,000
$40,000 after taxes and rent: 40 cities ranked (2026)
A $40,000 salary leaves $1,756 a month after a one-bedroom in St. Louis and −$214 in San Jose — where rent alone exceeds take-home. Ranked by what is left after rent; open a city for its full paycheck and budget.
| # | City | Take-home / mo | 1-bed rent | Left after 1-bed | Rent share | Left after 2-bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Louis, MO | $2,751 | $995 | $1,756 | 36.2% | $1,533 |
| 2 | Cleveland, OH | $2,750 | $1,058 | $1,692 | 38.5% | $1,471 |
| 3 | San Antonio, TX | $2,860 | $1,177 | $1,683 | 41.2% | $1,434 |
| 4 | Louisville, KY | $2,680 | $1,047 | $1,633 | 39.1% | $1,408 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh, PA | $2,655 | $1,077 | $1,578 | 40.6% | $1,356 |
| 6 | Columbus, OH | $2,750 | $1,194 | $1,556 | 43.4% | $1,320 |
| 7 | Kansas City, MO | $2,751 | $1,197 | $1,554 | 43.5% | $1,393 |
| 8 | Detroit, MI | $2,659 | $1,122 | $1,537 | 42.2% | $1,248 |
| 9 | Houston, TX | $2,860 | $1,323 | $1,537 | 46.3% | $1,287 |
| 10 | Jacksonville, FL | $2,860 | $1,382 | $1,478 | 48.3% | $1,202 |
| 11 | Indianapolis, IN | $2,697 | $1,267 | $1,430 | 47.0% | $1,224 |
| 12 | Las Vegas, NV | $2,860 | $1,478 | $1,382 | 51.7% | $1,125 |
| 13 | Minneapolis, MN | $2,735 | $1,405 | $1,330 | 51.4% | $1,026 |
| 14 | Salt Lake City, UT | $2,779 | $1,456 | $1,323 | 52.4% | $1,032 |
| 15 | Austin, TX | $2,860 | $1,562 | $1,298 | 54.6% | $1,008 |
| 16 | Nashville, TN | $2,860 | $1,578 | $1,282 | 55.2% | $1,130 |
| 17 | Charlotte, NC | $2,769 | $1,538 | $1,231 | 55.5% | $1,083 |
| 18 | Phoenix, AZ | $2,810 | $1,583 | $1,227 | 56.3% | $971 |
| 19 | Dallas, TX | $2,860 | $1,648 | $1,212 | 57.6% | $929 |
| 20 | Raleigh, NC | $2,769 | $1,596 | $1,173 | 57.6% | $1,019 |
| 21 | Tampa, FL | $2,860 | $1,696 | $1,164 | 59.3% | $883 |
| 22 | Orlando, FL | $2,860 | $1,731 | $1,129 | 60.5% | $888 |
| 23 | Chicago, IL | $2,707 | $1,581 | $1,126 | 58.4% | $926 |
| 24 | Baltimore, MD | $2,625 | $1,511 | $1,114 | 57.6% | $768 |
| 25 | Philadelphia, PA | $2,631 | $1,520 | $1,111 | 57.8% | $821 |
| 26 | Atlanta, GA | $2,756 | $1,660 | $1,096 | 60.2% | $936 |
| 27 | Denver, CO | $2,757 | $1,754 | $1,003 | 63.6% | $668 |
| 28 | Portland, OR | $2,633 | $1,677 | $956 | 63.7% | $711 |
| 29 | Newark, NJ | $2,775 | $1,822 | $953 | 65.7% | $570 |
| 30 | Sacramento, CA | $2,768 | $1,832 | $936 | 66.2% | $513 |
| 31 | Miami, FL | $2,860 | $1,995 | $865 | 69.8% | $424 |
| 32 | Washington, DC, DC | $2,757 | $2,015 | $742 | 73.1% | $511 |
| 33 | Honolulu, HI | $2,712 | $2,016 | $696 | 74.3% | $70 |
| 34 | Los Angeles, CA | $2,768 | $2,085 | $683 | 75.3% | $167 |
| 35 | Seattle, WA | $2,814 | $2,146 | $668 | 76.3% | $313 |
| 36 | San Diego, CA | $2,768 | $2,459 | $309 | 88.8% | −$233 |
| 37 | Boston, MA | $2,705 | $2,476 | $229 | 91.5% | −$236 |
| 38 | New York City, NY | $2,619 | $2,655 | −$36 | 101.4% | −$291 |
| 39 | San Francisco, CA | $2,768 | $2,977 | −$209 | 107.5% | −$836 |
| 40 | San Jose, CA | $2,768 | $2,982 | −$214 | 107.7% | −$715 |
How these rankings are calculated
Take-home pay is computed by the paycheck engine for a single filer with no pre-tax deductions, 2026 federal and state tables, and city income tax where one applies (New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Louisville, Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, St. Louis, Kansas City, Indianapolis and others). Rents are HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rents for the metro area — the 40th-percentile gross rent including utilities, i.e. a modest typical unit. "Salary needed" is the gross salary at which the one-bedroom rent equals 30% of monthly take-home, solved exactly for that city's taxes. All numbers are regenerated when HUD publishes new rents (October) or a tax table changes; the full table is in open data (CSV, CC BY 4.0).