About RelocateMath
RelocateMath answers one practical question: will I be better off if I move to another state?
Who runs RelocateMath
RelocateMath is published by Abu Hasnat. It has been online since 2026.
Abu Hasnat
Founder & editor
Abu Hasnat founded RelocateMath and builds its calculators and data from public sources including the IRS, Census Bureau, BEA and state agencies. He is not a CPA or tax preparer. The tax models include automated tests based on published schedules and worked examples; their assumptions and limitations are documented in the methodology, and published errors are listed in the corrections log.
Why we built this
A price index alone does not calculate your take-home pay, and a tax estimate alone does not show your housing or moving costs. Some relocation tools combine several of these, with different data and assumptions. We bring our tax, price and selected budget models together and show their sources and limits. A salary that looks like a raise can turn out to be a pay cut, and a "cheap" state can cost more once property tax and insurance are counted.
We put the numbers that matter side by side: take-home pay after federal and state taxes, rent and home prices, property tax, homeowners insurance, electricity, the cost of the move itself, and what changes for retirees and cross-border commuters.
How we calculate
- Take-home pay: 2026 federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, each state's 2026 income tax and payroll programs, and, on city pages, the resident income tax of the 20 cities we cover that levy one.
- Buying power: take-home pay divided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis price level for the state or metro area (U.S. = 100), which gives the salary that buys the same in the new place.
- Housing: Census median rent, home value, property tax and homeowners insurance (what owners with a mortgage pay), and mortgage payments at Freddie Mac's weekly 30-year rate.
- Retirement: the IRS worksheet for taxable Social Security, then each state's rules for Social Security, pensions and IRA withdrawals.
- Moving costs: distance-based ranges fitted to 198 published price ranges on 22 interstate routes from moveBuddha's route pages, checked against 47 independent published prices (U-Pack's dated quotes for its own and other companies' moves, HireAHelper's rental-truck database and Move.org's full-service medians), which raised the top of several ranges. Moves to and from Alaska and Hawaii use Matson's published household-goods container rates and published container and mover prices. They are estimates, not quotes.
Our methodology page gives every formula and source.
Where our numbers come from
Our figures come from sources anyone can check: government data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the IRS, the Energy Information Administration, FEMA, the BLS and state revenue and motor-vehicle agencies, plus published benchmarks where no government data exists: car insurance averages from the NAIC, gas prices from AAA, health premiums from KFF's analysis of CMS data, and moving and car-shipping prices from published route quotes. Our editorial policy explains how we review and correct content. Source editions and check dates are listed with the relevant figures and guidance. A “Page updated” date records a substantive change to that page or its model; it does not mean every source was checked again on that date.
Corrections log
When a figure or rule on the site was wrong, we fix it on every affected page and record it here, newest first. The entries from September 24, 2026 come from a full review of our calculators.
- Current commuter certificates and exemption conditions. Kentucky reciprocity guidance now points to the 2026 K-4 worksheet and box 4 instead of the older 42A809. West Virginia nonresident guidance identifies WV/IT-104NR on page 2 of the current IT-104 packet. Minnesota monthly home-return and Indiana county-work conditions are stated explicitly; New York remote-work guidance uses the assigned or primary office condition. Numerical tax inputs are unchanged.
- DC nonresident wages are not bilateral reciprocity. The Maryland-to-DC and Virginia-to-DC descriptions and hero labels called the DC nonresident wage exclusion reciprocity. They now name the exclusion, and the hub and downloadable reference distinguish it from bilateral wage agreements. The calculator already excluded DC nonresident employee wages; numerical tax amounts are unchanged.
- D.C. county comparisons and migration interpretation. The D.C. property-tax FAQ said rates vary by county, and its disaster-risk page presented a lowest-county list despite having one county-equivalent area. Those within-D.C. comparisons are removed. The city-choice guide no longer treats migration gains as evidence of current job availability or rising rents; tax-return address changes do not establish those claims. Underlying numerical datasets are unchanged.
- Commuter credit and filing qualifications. The general nonreciprocal-wage explanation said a resident-state credit leaves home-state tax only when it is higher. It now describes a limited credit for eligible tax on the same income and directs readers to filing requirements, credit limits and local-tax checks. The correction changes the explanation, not the numerical tax model.
- Ohio municipal withholding exception. The Ohio local-tax note described the 20-day occasional-entrant rule as a general delay before work-city withholding starts. It now distinguishes the eligible exception from principal work locations and certain long-term worksites that can require withholding from the first day, with links to Ohio Revised Code sections 718.011 and 718.03. State wage reciprocity does not remove municipal-tax obligations.
- BEA housing-rent category labels. State and city comparisons called the BEA housing-rent category a housing price index or simply housing, which could be mistaken for home purchase prices. Affected move, city, cost-of-living, salary-needed and new-resident pages now label it housing rents. The BEA input values, source editions and separately displayed Census home values are unchanged.
- Commuter guidance when neither jurisdiction taxes wages. For work-state wage exemptions, shared guidance said the home state alone taxes the wages even when the home state also has no wage income tax. Selected calculator results and route FAQs now say neither jurisdiction taxes these wages at the state level when applicable, and retain a separate local-tax check. This includes eligible nonresident Washington, DC wage scenarios; numerical estimates are unchanged.
- Colorado high-income deduction addback. The model omitted Colorado's 2026 deduction addback at original federal AGI of $300,000 or more. It now retains only $1,000 of the modeled state standard deduction for nonjoint filers or $2,000 for joint filers, including retirement callers. The inclusive threshold follows the enacted statute; salary-needed comparisons inspect that cliff instead of assuming a smooth increase. Optional federal itemizing does not model a state itemized return. Other jurisdictions' numerical rules are unchanged.
- Malformed shared affordability percentages. Malformed mortgage-rate, down-payment or property-tax percentages in shared links were ignored, leaving a plausible default result available to share. These controls now flag rejected shared values before applying defaults or calculating; a valid correction or a supported intentional blank can recover. Native number controls and unrelated select/number fallback behavior are retained. Financial formulas and default prices are unchanged.
- South Carolina homebuyer program availability. The buying guide promoted Palmetto Heroes without saying that SC Housing had closed its 2026 program. It now points to the ordinary Homebuyer Program and clearly labels the separate Heroes program as closed. The historical assistance amount is not presented as a currently available award; the agency determines current eligibility and availability.
- New Jersey unused retirement exclusion on investment income. The model applied New Jersey's pension/IRA exclusion but omitted its unused allowance for qualifying taxable interest and ordinary dividends. Within the tool's no-earned-income scope, the unused allowance now follows the eligible age-62+ owner, original New Jersey income bands and the exclusion already used. A younger spouse's investments stay taxable, and the separate Social-Security-ineligible special exclusion remains outside the model. This can reduce previously overstated New Jersey retirement estimates.
- Delaware retirement age boundary and fixed-example account labels. The 59½–61 age option used age 60, which could grant Delaware's age-60 exclusion to a reader still under 60. Separate 59½–under 60 and 60–61 options now preserve the boundary in both state and move calculators, including spouse ownership. Existing age-60 links retain their represented age. Fixed retirement examples now identify private defined-benefit pensions and traditional IRA withdrawals instead of labeling the IRA amount as an interchangeable 401(k)/IRA category. Methodology reflects the separate employer-plan input and its limits.
- Invalid shared income and pending-result actions. Malformed shared money values were ignored, allowing a default amount to produce a plausible result. Money inputs now retain the invalid value for validation. Share blocks while edits are pending and checks that current values match a successful result; retirement comparison activation commits the latest entries and cancels invalid comparisons. This changes input handling, not tax rates or indexability.
- DC first-time buyer guidance and Florida homestead/insurance qualifications. DC first-time buyer guidance still used the expired FY2026 price ceiling; the FY2027 form effective October 1 uses $794,000 and requires separate eligibility. Florida's current 2026 additional homestead exemption is $26,411, making the maximum non-school exemption $51,411; school levies retain the $25,000 exemption. The pending amendment's larger benefit for post-2026 residents starts with the fifth exemption year, subject to passage and constitutional limits. Citizens coverage is conditional, not guaranteed. Ordinary transfer-tax estimates and observed property-tax inputs are unchanged.
- Retirement distribution wording and household comparisons. Maryland and Iowa retirement notes conflated eligibility for a state retirement-income exclusion with whether Roth distributions are taxable. Qualified Roth distributions are now distinguished from otherwise-taxable income; Roth eligibility is not calculated. A separate employer-plan field preserves account type between states and applies the appropriate supported exclusion. Early employer-plan distributions and Hawaii, Pennsylvania and Mississippi employer-plan cases need a separate eligibility or funding check and are not calculated. Supported amounts, ages, spouse ownership and taxable interest/dividends now follow comparison links. Older links retain their amounts and disclose that an unidentified account type cannot be inferred.
- Marketplace credit conditions and coverage-year income. The income-range shorthand did not fully explain other premium-credit conditions. State health guides now mention affordable minimum-value employer offers and qualifying public coverage, and identify projected household income for the coverage year rather than a new job’s annual salary. Premium figures remain 2026 averages; the new moving checklist provides official application handoffs, not a quote or eligibility decision.
- Applicable commuter credit guidance. A state-wide exception selector displayed California Schedule S on Indiana–Ohio and unrelated reverse-credit combinations on Oregon–Idaho. Route guidance now follows the ordered state pair while retaining actual reverse-credit exceptions. Important provisional-input and county/local limits also appear beside selected results; modeled tax formulas are unchanged.
- Louisiana annual deductions and retirement exemption. Annual tax estimates used the payroll-derived $12,875/$25,750 standard deductions. LDR Bulletin 26-019 publishes $12,838 single and $25,676 joint/head of household for 2026; annual calculations now use those amounts and retain the 3% rate. The same source confirms the age-65 shared retirement-income exemption at $12,324 per person, replacing the provisional $12,000 fallback. Louisiana-dependent salary, move and retirement results update together; this is separate from payroll withholding.
- Commuter filing-count scope and selected-state guidance. The result previously labeled a modeled count as state returns to file without checking filing thresholds or refund needs. It now describes a typical pattern and explains the limits. Positive Maryland schedule estimates explicitly exclude minimum-filing relief and poverty-level credits, which can reduce final tax to zero; links lead to the official checks. After changing the states, a link leads to the selected pair’s existing tax guide and official sources, so the original article is not mistaken for the new pair’s filing instructions.
- Marketplace premium averages and eligibility scope. State pages previously called a county-weighted lowest-bronze premium average the cheapest plan, and implied one price for every New York or Vermont adult. They now distinguish state averages, modeled age estimates and actual location/plan quotes. Medicaid language retains alternative eligibility pathways, and retirement rankings no longer imply Medicare coverage automatically starts at 65 or removes medical costs. Premiums and ranking scores are unchanged.
- Moving-year federal and Puerto Rico tax summaries. An interstate move does not create a second federal return, but can affect federal items such as the Marketplace premium tax credit. The guide now explains that distinction. Puerto Rico summaries now explicitly retain the federal-government wage exception to the qualifying Puerto Rico-source income exclusion, consistent with the detailed section below.
- New-resident license document checklist. A shared sentence prescribed the same Social Security and two-address-proof checklist for every license applicant. It now directs readers to their responsible agency and chosen license type because standard and REAL ID documents and permitted alternatives differ. State-specific transfer deadlines and numerical estimates are unchanged.
- Small-household moving estimate summaries. Some studio or one-bedroom long-distance scenarios had a lower container or full-service minimum than the truck minimum. The summary incorrectly assumed the truck was always cheapest. It now spans all methods: for example, Alabama to Oregon starts at $1,350 rather than $1,420 before season adjustment. Individual modeled method prices are unchanged.
- Hawaii general excise tax interpretation. Hawaii move reports and the new-resident guide previously called its 4% state base a sales tax. It is a general excise tax imposed on businesses, with county surcharges and possible customer pass-on charges. The labels and explanation now distinguish it from a retail sales tax; selected-cost calculations are unchanged.
- Same-state city car-shipping controls. Changing vehicle or carrier options on a report between two cities in the same principal state incorrectly marked the previous estimate stale. These fixed-distance city reports now recalculate; the standalone state picker still requires different states because it has no intrastate distance.
- Washington car-shipping upper estimate. The page summary previously selected the route with the highest lower estimate, which was not the highest upper estimate. It now matches the table maximum: $2,320 to Florida rather than $2,300 to Alaska. Individual modeled route prices are unchanged.
- Hawaii ordinary driver-license transfer guidance. Removed an unsupported general 30-day license-transfer deadline. Hawaii permits adults with a valid equivalent other-state ordinary license to drive under its exemption; county transfer instructions explain transfer before expiration. Vehicle-arrival registration requirements, minors and commercial licenses have separate rules.
- Moving timeline tax and registration reminders. The checklist no longer tells everyone moving to a state without wage income tax to stop old-state withholding. It directs payroll coordination for residence and work-state obligations, including remote work. Registration clocks based on vehicle arrival, personal arrival or employment are retained; when that date is unknown, the calendar uses an explicit confirmation reminder instead of inventing a legal deadline from moving day.
- Retirement move estimate scope. Move comparisons now show the same Connecticut personal-credit omission and approximate Maryland/Indiana county-rate limits as the standalone retirement calculator, for both selected states. This repairs a missing disclosure; the modeled tax amounts are unchanged.
- Printing personal move budgets. The report Print action now checks pending inputs before printing. Invalid entries or an unsupported tax year cannot print the previous valid report as though it matched the new entries. Complete valid inputs to print the current result.
- Connecticut retirement deduction bands. Replaced the linear pension and IRA deduction phaseout with the statutory AGI bands. Social Security now uses the strict income cutoff and the state worksheet once per household. Traditional IRA eligibility uses its 2026 effective year; ordinary personal and property-tax credits remain outside the estimate and are disclosed.
- New Mexico general age exemption. The income-tested age-65 exemption now covers remaining ordinary income, rather than only pension and IRA income. Each eligible spouse receives a separate allowance against household taxable income even when the other spouse owns the income; the same allowance is not counted again as a pension exclusion.
- Minnesota Social Security subtraction. The calculator now compares the simplified and alternative Social Security subtractions and takes the greater allowed amount. Both methods use one household calculation and the official 2026 indexed amounts. Typical published profiles are unchanged; some low-benefit, higher-income cases receive a larger subtraction.
- North Carolina military pension guidance. Separated the qualifying military retirement deduction effective in 2022 from the Bailey settlement vesting rule. Eligible military and survivor benefits do not depend on the Bailey vesting date. The calculator continues to model general private pensions rather than specialized military or public plans.
- Retirement exemption and county-tax scope. Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi and Pennsylvania headlines now refer to qualifying retirement income instead of every distribution. Retirement assumptions and selected-state guidance disclose approximate Maryland and Indiana county tax and omitted credits. California has early official-source links distinguishing current indexed inputs from prior-year forms and final annual instructions.
- South Carolina SCIAD reduction. The 2026 South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction now rounds its reduction down to $10 as required by Act 110. Retirement estimates use original federal adjusted gross income for that reduction before state exclusions. Salary inverses account for the resulting deduction steps; other jurisdictions keep their existing rules.
- Commuter credit allocation and Indiana county tax. California–Oregon examples now claim the eligible credit in the work state after preparing the home-state return. Source-confirmed reverse-credit choices were completed in the interactive calculator; California–Indiana remains an ordinary resident-credit pair. State credits preserve Indiana county tax, and separate local credits are not calculated.
- Maryland and Pennsylvania commuter local taxes. Removed the blanket claim that Pennsylvania reciprocal workers owe no Maryland local tax. The shared note now agrees with MW507 state/local exemptions and possible Form 515 filing. Pennsylvania worksite nonresident earned-income tax and local-services tax can apply to out-of-state workers; an out-of-state address does not provide a blanket local exemption. These local amounts remain excluded from the estimate.
- Ohio withholding forms and wage-exemption conditions. The five reciprocal Ohio directions now use the current combined IT 4 Section III instead of instructing readers to file the replaced IT 4NR. Routes show relevant exemption conditions and official rule links before the calculator, so a modeled zero is not presented as a personal eligibility determination.
- Oregon local-tax thresholds and source scope. The local-tax note now separates the 2026 Metro SHS thresholds of $128,000 single/$205,000 joint from Multnomah PFA thresholds. Oregon annual planning estimates retain the later published withholding-derived indexed inputs, with their provisional scope explained; excluded local taxes are not silently added to the calculator.
- California 2026 tax source refresh. Replaced the disclosed 2025 California fallback with FTB’s published 2026 indexed brackets, standard deductions and personal/senior exemption credits. California wage, retirement and related comparison estimates now use those amounts. Exemption-credit phaseouts, special return credits and return tax-table rounding remain outside the model.
- Car insurance after moving. Removed the general instruction to obtain new-state insurance within 30 days of moving. Readers are now directed to contact their insurer before the move, coordinate policy effective dates without a coverage gap and check the destination’s insurance and registration requirements.
- Moving-container storage terms. The guide no longer implies that storage between homes is included in every container estimate. It now explains reservation, availability, loading time, storage access and additional charges, with separate PODS and U-Pack examples linked to their own terms.
- Car-shipping model assumptions. The shipping hub and guide now identify the 25% SUV/pickup and 35% enclosed increases as calculator assumptions, rather than universal carrier surcharges. The hub’s price span is labeled as modeled 500–2,800-mile sedan scenarios; actual carrier quotes can differ.
- Sharing validated calculator results. After a successful calculation, an invalid edit or a later pending calculation could leave Share/Copy link enabled while the result was stale. Sharing now stays unavailable until the current entries produce a valid result, and returns after correction or deferred completion.
- Gross rent and basic utilities. ACS gross rent already includes basic tenant-paid utilities. Rental state/city comparisons and selected-cost budgets no longer add electricity a second time. Retirement rental budgets retain telephone services separately rather than adding the whole BLS utility category. Owner budgets continue to include electricity.
- Joint retirement income ownership. Married retirement calculations now collect both ages and each spouse’s portion of household income. Personal pension and IRA exclusions apply to their owner instead of automatically doubling one person’s exclusion. West Virginia’s age-65 modification is reduced by the Social Security subtraction, and South Carolina’s age deductions use each spouse’s own retirement exclusion.
- City report settings and tax geography. City report links now preserve salary, filing status and explicit local-tax choices. Choosing outside city limits models both living and working outside the named tax area; working inside a city can still trigger a commuter tax. Multi-state metro figures identify the principal state used for taxes, and fixed examples are labeled separately from interactive results.
- Aggregated natural hazard scores. State and metro scores are now labeled as RelocateMath population-weighted means of FEMA county scores. They are not official FEMA state/metro ratings, national state/metro percentiles or a guarantee of safety. County rows retain FEMA’s actual county ratings.
- Child-care source refresh. Center-care calculations now use the published 2025 CCAoA table for 47 states, including actual toddler prices for California and Rhode Island. Colorado, Washington, DC and South Carolina retain explicitly labeled 2024 prices because the new table has no price; New Mexico remains unavailable. No older figure was relabeled as 2025.
- Lexington local tax. Take-home pay in Lexington now includes the occupational license taxes on wages: the Urban County Government’s 2.25% fee and the Fayette County schools’ 0.5% tax on residents (we had only mentioned the tax, without counting it).
- Maine income tax. Now uses Maine Revenue Services’ 2026 schedule: a standard deduction of $15,700 single and $31,400 joint (we had used $8,350), the 2026 brackets, and the 2% surcharge on taxable income above $1 million single or $1.5 million joint.
- Massachusetts surtax. The 4% surtax now starts at the 2026 threshold of $1,107,750 of taxable income (we had used the 2025 threshold).
- Payroll taxes. Take-home pay now counts Oregon’s statewide transit tax (0.1% of wages), Alaska’s employee unemployment insurance (0.5% of the first $54,200) and Pennsylvania’s employee unemployment compensation tax (0.07%).
- Retirement taxes. State breaks for Social Security, pensions and IRA withdrawals now apply each state’s age requirement, income limit and dollar cap. Minnesota and Vermont phase out their Social Security exclusions gradually, as their laws do, instead of all at once at one income. State tables are priced for a retiree aged 67.
- City income taxes. City pages no longer say that living outside city limits avoids the city’s income tax. Many of these cities tax commuters who work there and many suburbs levy their own tax, so if you choose to live outside city limits the calculator now applies the typical suburban rate for that metro.
- Cost to own a home after a move. The “If you buy” result of the state-to-state calculator now counts the mortgage payment and homeowners insurance on the typical home (20% down), not only its property tax.
- Health insurance by age. Premiums for ages other than 40 in Massachusetts, Utah and Washington, DC now follow each one’s own CMS age curve instead of the federal default, which overstated premiums for older buyers in Massachusetts.
What we are not
We are not a tax preparer, law firm, lender or moving company. Our results are planning estimates. For decisions with legal or tax consequences, confirm with the official state agency or a licensed professional.
How the site is funded
RelocateMath is free to use. We may show advertising to cover costs.
We don't use affiliate links at the moment. If we add any, each will sit in a box labelled “Sponsored” with a note beside it saying we're paid, and the company will be named here.
Advertisers and affiliate partners never influence our calculations, estimates or rankings. No company can pay to change a figure, a ranking or its place in a table.
Contact
Found an error or have a suggestion? Email hello@relocatemath.com with the page and a source, or use our contact page. Confirmed errors are fixed on every affected page and added to the corrections log above.