$1k/month to $3k/month is $24k per year in post tax dollars. You're going to need to make more than $30k more a year to get this. I just ran the numbers for a

$1k/month to $3k/month is $24k per year in post tax dollars. You're going to need to make more than $30k more a year to get this. I just ran the numbers for a $100k salary in NC and $130k in California. The person in NC will pay $17203.92 in federal taxes and $5250 in state taxes for a total of $22453.92. The person in California pays $24403.92 and $9094.69 for a total of $33498.61. This brings their post tax income to $96501.39 for California and $77546.08 for NC. The person in California only makes about $1.5k extra a month. There are plenty of non-monetary reasons why someone might choose to live in one state or the other but you do need a lot more money in California to cover the cost of basics like housing. Not properly accounting for that could give someone quite a shock if they relocate there.