Paycheck Duel: Which State Lets You Keep More?

One salary, two states, two real paychecks — computed with the same 2026 engines as our state calculators, not a rough tax-rate guess. Or switch to the move solver and find the salary in a new state that matches the take-home you have now.

How the duel works

Most “state vs. state” comparisons on the internet multiply your salary by two headline tax rates and call it a day. This one doesn't. Each side of the duel is a full paycheck, built by the same code as the state calculator it names: federal withholding from IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Social Security and Medicare at the statutory rates, and then the state's own withholding method — California's Method B with its standard deduction and exemption credits, plus the 1.3% SDI; New York's Method II tables with Paid Family Leave, and the city tax if you tick the box; the official flat formulas for Pennsylvania (3.07% of gross compensation), Illinois (4.95% after IL-W-4 allowances), and North Carolina (the NC-30 annualized method); and a clean $0 for the nine states with no income tax on wages.

Because both sides share the same salary, pay schedule, filing status, and pre-tax deductions, the federal lines come out identical — every dollar of difference is a state line. That's what makes the duel honest: there is nowhere for a gap to hide. State-form elections use the same starting defaults as each state page (one California allowance, one New York exemption, one Illinois basic allowance, no North Carolina allowances), so a duel result matches what the matching state calculator shows on its default settings. If your forms look different, the full calculators linked below let you tune them.

The move solver runs the same engines in reverse. It takes the annual take-home your current salary produces in your current state, then searches salaries in the destination state — from $10,000 to $500,000 — until the take-home matches within $1. The salary it reports is the break-even: earn that in the new state and your bank account can't tell the difference; earn more and the move is a raise after taxes, whatever the headline salary does.

Two example duels

Both duels below were produced by this page's engines. Single filer, paid every two weeks, no pre-tax deductions.

Duel 1: California vs. Texas at $100,000

Per paycheck	California	Texas
Gross pay	$3,846.15	$3,846.15
Federal income tax	−$579.31	−$579.31
Social Security (6.2%)	−$238.46	−$238.46
Medicare (1.45%)	−$55.77	−$55.77
State tax	−$213.86	$0.00
California SDI (1.3%)	−$50.00	—
Take-home pay	$2,708.75	$2,972.61

Over a year: $70,427.50 in California against $77,287.86 in Texas — Texas keeps $6,860.36 more, or $263.86 per paycheck. Note the SDI line: at this salary it quietly takes $1,300 a year, about a fifth of the whole gap, and it never appears in “income tax rate” comparisons. The move solver's version of this duel: $90,248 in Texas matches the take-home of $100,000 in California to the cent.

Duel 2: New York vs. Florida at $85,000

Per paycheck	New York*	Florida
Gross pay	$3,269.23	$3,269.23
Federal income tax	−$452.38	−$452.38
Social Security (6.2%)	−$202.69	−$202.69
Medicare (1.45%)	−$47.40	−$47.40
State tax	−$152.76	$0.00
NY Paid Family Leave	−$14.12	—
Take-home pay	$2,399.87	$2,566.75

Over a year: $62,396.62 in New York against $66,735.50 in Florida — Florida keeps $4,338.88 more. *That New York column is life outside the five boroughs. Tick the New York City box and the same paycheck drops to $2,282.81 — the city tax alone is $117.06 per check, $3,043.56 a year — widening Florida's lead to $7,382.44. Where in New York you live matters more than most state-to-state differences on this page.

When the answer flips

California vs. New York is a genuine contest — and the winner depends on the salary. Outside New York City, a single filer at $50,000 pays less on the California side: California's state-side total is $1,793.48 a year against New York's $2,297.88, because California's standard deduction and exemption credit shelter a real slice of a smaller paycheck while New York's brackets start biting early. By $100,000 it has flipped: New York's state-side total is $5,268.12 against California's $6,860.36. The crossover sits around $68,000. Add New York City tax and California wins at every ordinary salary — yet past roughly $717,000 the city version flips too, because California's SDI has no wage cap and its top rates keep climbing: at $1,000,000, New York City comes out $7,562.36 a year cheaper.

The lower headline rate doesn't always win. North Carolina withholds at a higher rate than Pennsylvania (4.09% against 3.07%), but North Carolina shelters the first $12,750 of pay with its standard deduction while Pennsylvania taxes from the first dollar. At $40,000, North Carolina's tax is $1,118.00 a year — $109.98 less than Pennsylvania's $1,227.98. Pennsylvania's lower rate only takes the lead above roughly $51,000; at $100,000 it wins by $491.92. And married couples can land on a knife edge: filing jointly at $150,000, California and New York (outside the city) differ by just $139.62 a year — at least until a New York City address turns it into a $5,924.36 gap.

Frequently asked questions

How does Paycheck Duel get its numbers?
It runs the exact same 2026 engines as our state paycheck calculators: IRS Publication 15-T for federal withholding, then each state's own module — California's Method B plus SDI, New York's Method II with Paid Family Leave (and city tax if you tick the box), and the official flat-rate formulas for Pennsylvania, Illinois, and North Carolina. State-form elections use the same starting defaults as each state calculator (for example, one California allowance and one New York exemption). If your W-4 or state form is unusual, run the full state calculator from the links below the duel.

Why do Texas and Washington tie?
Because neither state takes an income tax out of wages, the two paychecks are identical at the same salary — $77,287.86 a year on a $100,000 salary for a single filer paid every two weeks. The tie is only on paper, though: a real Washington paycheck also loses the Paid Leave and WA Cares premiums (up to about 1.39% of pay combined), which this duel does not deduct. The note under the Washington stub says so.

Can a state with an income tax ever beat a no-tax state at the same salary?
No. Every state-side line in these engines is zero or a deduction — no state adds money to a paycheck — and the federal lines are identical on both sides. So at the same salary and settings, a no-income-tax state always ties or wins. The interesting flips happen between two tax states: California is cheaper than New York (outside New York City) below roughly $68,000 of salary for a single filer, and more expensive above it.

Is New York City tax included?
Only if you tick the “Include New York City tax” box under the New York side. It is off by default, matching our New York calculator's default for someone living outside the city. It is not a small line: on an $85,000 salary for a single filer, New York City tax is $117.06 per biweekly paycheck — $3,043.56 a year. Yonkers taxes are not part of the duel; the New York calculator covers them.

Does a 401(k) change who wins a duel?
It shrinks both paychecks, but it does not always shrink the gap. Federal withholding falls identically in both states, yet California and Pennsylvania tax the 401(k) contribution itself, so their state line does not move. In the California–Texas duel at $100,000, the gap is $6,860.36 a year with no 401(k) — and still $6,860.36 a year with $300 per paycheck going into one.

What does the duel leave out?
Four real deductions, each flagged in the note under the stub it affects: Washington's Paid Leave and WA Cares premiums, Alaska's 0.50% employee unemployment-insurance contribution, Pennsylvania's local earned income tax (about 1% in most communities, higher in Philadelphia) next to its 0.07% unemployment contribution, and New York's optional statutory disability (DBL) contribution, which only some employers collect. Everything the duel does deduct is itemized on the stubs.

How does the move solver work?
It runs the target state's engine over salaries from $10,000 to $500,000, narrowing in until the annual take-home matches your current state's take-home within $1. For example, $100,000 in California leaves $70,427.50 a year; the solver finds that $90,248 in Texas lands on the same $70,427.50 — so a move at $90,248 is pay-neutral, and anything above it is a raise after state taxes.

Sources

Federal withholding follows IRS Publication 15-T (2026); FICA rates and the $184,500 Social Security wage base are from the IRS and the Social Security Administration. State methods: California DE 44 / EDD Method B; New York Publication NYS-50 (Method II) with the city's tables and Paid Family Leave rate; Pennsylvania REV-415 (flat 3.07%); Illinois Booklet IL-700-T; North Carolina NC-30. Each state calculator page lists its sources in full, and the overall approach is documented on our methodology page.

Run the full state calculators

Every state in the duel has its own calculator with its full form options — state allowances and exemptions, Yonkers residence, hourly pay, W-4 adjustments: California, New York, Texas, Florida, Washington, Nevada, South Dakota, Alaska, Tennessee, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and North Carolina. Or browse them all on the state hub and the main Paycheck Calculator.

Estimate for general information only — not tax, legal, or financial advice. Federal method: IRS Publication 15-T (2026). Social Security wage base 2026: $184,500 (SSA). State methods as listed above; local taxes other than New York City's are not included. See our methodology & sources.