There's a US salary at which moving south starts paying off. It's different for everyone — your province, your state, your kids and your rent all move it. Enter your situation and find yours. 2026 figures built in.
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It includes: federal and provincial or state income tax, the Quebec federal abatement and QPIP, CPP and EI, Social Security and Medicare, employer health premiums and typical out-of-pocket costs, childcare, the Canada Child Benefit, the US Child Tax Credit, housing, a 401(k) match, and the value of parental leave shown separately.
It doesn't include: RRSP or 401(k) deductions, tax credits beyond the basic personal amount and standard deduction, provincial health premiums such as Ontario's (up to $900 a year), local income taxes such as New York City's, state disability levies, tuition, or the value of a defined-benefit pension. It assumes you rent or carry an average housing cost for the city, not a specific mortgage.
Two simplifications worth knowing about. Household income is taxed as though one person earned it. Canada taxes individuals, so a two-income couple splitting the same total pays less than this shows — which makes the Canadian side look worse than it is. And state income tax is applied as a single average rate rather than a bracket table, which overstates the bill in steeply progressive states, California most of all.
Sources: CRA 2026 indexation and Canada.ca (federal and provincial brackets, basic personal amounts, CPP, EI, CCB, OAS), Revenu Québec and the QPIP (Quebec rates and ceilings), IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (federal brackets, standard deduction), the Tax Foundation (2026 state rates), the SSA (wage base), the KFF 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey (premiums and out-of-pocket costs), Child Care Aware of America, Ontario's CWELCC schedule and Quebec's subsidized rate (childcare), and market rent reports (housing). Tax and benefit figures are 2026; health and childcare survey data is the most recent available.
The honest caveat: this is an estimate built from averages. Your actual number depends on your employer's specific benefits package, your deductions, and what you'd really pay for housing. Use it to find the right neighbourhood, not the exact address. And none of this is financial, tax or immigration advice.
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