Georgia and North Carolina at a glance
Georgia and North Carolina share a border, but a paycheck does not travel across it unchanged. A $60,000 salary leaves $24,354 a year after taxes and the four basics in Georgia and $25,905 in North Carolina.
North Carolina comes out ahead by $1,551 a year ($129 a month). The calculation starts from the same gross pay in both states, subtracts federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, then each state's own income tax, and then the population-weighted cost of a one-bedroom rental, groceries, home energy and gasoline across 10,940,407 people in 159 counties in Georgia and 10,730,404 people in 100 counties in North Carolina.
Taxes: what each paycheck loses
Federal income tax ($5,072) and FICA ($4,590) on $60,000 are the same on both sides of the border. State income tax takes $2,491 in Georgia and $2,008 in North Carolina, which leaves take-home pay of $47,847 and $48,330.
At $100,000
At $100,000 take-home pay is $74,334 in Georgia and $75,193 in North Carolina, a difference of $859. The gap widens with income because graduated state brackets take a growing share.
Living costs
One-bedroom rent averages $1,374 a month in Georgia and $1,282 in North Carolina, so North Carolina is $92 a month cheaper for housing. Food costs $3,436 a year in both, because the USDA Thrifty Food Plan is a national figure; home energy $2,207 and $2,138, and gasoline $1,366 and $1,472. Together the basics cost $23,493 a year in Georgia and $22,426 in North Carolina.
What the Census adds
Median household income is $77,353 in Georgia and $72,388 in North Carolina. Homeowners pay a median of $2,341 a year in property tax in Georgia and $1,896 in North Carolina. Commuters travel 28.3 minutes each way on average in Georgia and 25.1 in North Carolina.
Method
Taxes use the 2025 rules for a single filer with wage income only and the standard deduction. Housing and living costs are county figures from HUD (one-bedroom Fair Market Rent), the USDA Thrifty Food Plan and state energy prices from the Energy Information Administration, averaged across each state's counties and weighted by population, so large counties count more. Local income taxes are not included. Counties differ widely inside every state, so use the county pages for a specific place.