Atlanta, GA vs New York, NY
Moving from Atlanta to New York? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($382,938 → $727,625 median home) and taxes.
Atlanta vs New York at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Atlanta, GA, you'd need about $112,106 in New York, NY (+$12,106).
Livability — Atlanta, GA: 66 · New York, NY: 44 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Atlanta vs 1,099 sqft in New York ($187 vs $455 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Atlanta, GA | New York, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,080 | $42,036 | +$19,956 |
| Groceries | $4,926 | $5,415 | +$488 |
| Transportation | $3,515 | $3,895 | +$380 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $3,180 | +$1,524 |
| Insurance | $2,100 | $1,600 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $10,533 | $23,496 | +$12,963 |
| Total | $44,810 | $79,622 | +$34,811 |
Side by side
| Metric | Atlanta, GA | New York, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.5 | 112.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.04% | 6.55% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.9% | -1.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.72 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $382,938 | $727,625 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 7.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.1% | 4.1% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $455 |
| Median rent | $1,840 | $3,503 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.38% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.39% | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.85% | 1.74% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 32 | 36 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.15 | 3.45 |
| Natural gas / mo | $74 | $98 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $123 | $87 |
| Home internet / mo | $88 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 370 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.4 | 49.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 2.2 | 29.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |