Moving from New York to California
At $100,000 a single filer pays $195 a year for moving from New York to California — $16 a month. New York charges $4,860 at that income and California charges $5,055, an effective 4.86% against 5.05%.
The gap is not constant. At $50,000 it is $1,063; at $500,000 it is $12,881. Both states run a graduated schedule, so the gap scales roughly with income.
California: tax year 2025 figures. The California amounts shown here are the 2025 brackets, standard deduction and exemptions, published for 2026 because California has not yet published its 2026 inflation-indexed brackets, standard deduction or exemption credits. The 2026 Form 540-ES instructions confirm the structure for 2026 — nine brackets from 1% to 12.3% plus the 1% Behavioral Health Services Tax above $1,000,000 — and direct taxpayers to the 2025 standard deduction and exemption credit amounts in the meantime. Source: California Franchise Tax Board, 2025 California Tax Rate Schedules (Form 540 booklet), verified .
The move priced at every income
State income tax in both jurisdictions for tax year 2026, at the standard tiers. Change the filing status to see how the answer moves.
| Income | New York tax | California tax2025 brackets | Change per year | Change per month | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $2,103 | $1,040 | −$1,063 | −$89 | 4.21% → 2.08% |
| $75,000 | $3,453 | $2,775 | −$678 | −$57 | 4.60% → 3.70% |
| $100,000 | $4,860 | $5,055 | +$195 | +$16 | 4.86% → 5.05% |
| $150,000 | $7,810 | $9,705 | +$1,895 | +$158 | 5.21% → 6.47% |
| $250,000 | $13,962 | $19,005 | +$5,043 | +$420 | 5.58% → 7.60% |
| $500,000 | $31,087 | $43,968 | +$12,881 | +$1,073 | 6.22% → 8.79% |
California: tax year 2025 figures. The California amounts shown here are the 2025 brackets, standard deduction and exemptions, published for 2026 because California has not yet published its 2026 inflation-indexed brackets, standard deduction or exemption credits. The 2026 Form 540-ES instructions confirm the structure for 2026 — nine brackets from 1% to 12.3% plus the 1% Behavioral Health Services Tax above $1,000,000 — and direct taxpayers to the 2025 standard deduction and exemption credit amounts in the meantime. Source: California Franchise Tax Board, 2025 California Tax Rate Schedules (Form 540 booklet), verified .
Want a figure for your own income? Open this pair in the moving calculator, which also takes Maryland county and New York City local taxes.
Both states at $100,000
New York (leaving)
$100,000 · Single · TY2026California (arriving)2025 brackets
$100,000 · Single · TY2026California: tax year 2025 figures. The California amounts shown here are the 2025 brackets, standard deduction and exemptions, published for 2026 because California has not yet published its 2026 inflation-indexed brackets, standard deduction or exemption credits. The 2026 Form 540-ES instructions confirm the structure for 2026 — nine brackets from 1% to 12.3% plus the 1% Behavioral Health Services Tax above $1,000,000 — and direct taxpayers to the 2025 standard deduction and exemption credit amounts in the meantime. Source: California Franchise Tax Board, 2025 California Tax Rate Schedules (Form 540 booklet), verified .
How many people make this move
24,927 people moved from New York to California in 2024, give or take 3,680 — the American Community Survey is a sample, and its margin of error on a flow this size is wide. That makes it the 38th busiest of the 57 routes this site covers.
The traffic runs both ways: 31,367 people moved the other way, from California to New York, in the same year. That is a net 6,440 toward New York. The return trip has its own page: moving from California to New York.
Movers: U.S. Census Bureau, Table 1. State-to-State Migration Flows: 2024 (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) (retrieved 2026-09-23). Universe: population 1 year and over in the united states. Tax figures are computed from each state's own rate schedule and are unrelated to this dataset.
What else changes between New York and California
Local income tax. New York has localities that levy their own income tax; California does not, so the figures above understate what you pay today. See what they cost.
Capital gains. A long-term gain meets a top rate of 10.90% in New York and 13.30% in California.
New York, today: New York taxes a capital gain at the ordinary rates, up to 10.9%. There is no preferential rate and no general exclusion.
California, after the move: California is the plainest statement of the rule in the country and the most expensive. The 2025 Form 540 instructions for line 7a say: "California taxes long and short term capital gains as regular income. No special rate for long term capital gains exists." The top bracket is 12.3%, and a 1% Behavioral Health Services Tax on taxable income over $1,000,000 takes the top to 13.3% — the highest rate on a long-term gain anywhere in the United States. Compare every state.
Direction of travel. New York's top rate has risen 2.08 points since 2021. California's top rate has not moved since 2021. New York history · California history.
What this does not answer
State income tax only. Property tax, sales tax and housing costs usually matter more to a moving decision than the figures on this page, and none of them is here.
A full year in each state. In the year you move you will normally file part-year returns in both, splitting the income between them, so neither column is what you will actually pay that year.
Rates are tax year 2026. Sources: New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and California Franchise Tax Board. How we verify this data · Disclaimer