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Cost of Living Calculator

Q: How do I compare salaries between cities?

Scale the salary by the ratio of the two cities cost-of-living indexes. If your new city costs 50% more to live in, you need roughly 50% more salary to keep the same lifestyle. A big raise on paper can be a pay cut in real terms once rent and everyday prices are counted.

Built and maintained by Chandranshu Kumar · Figures from the IRS, SSA, BLS and Freddie Mac

A $90,000 salary in Austin buys the same lifestyle as about $156,408 in San Francisco, because San Francisco costs roughly 73.8% more to live in. A move that looks like a raise can quietly be a pay cut. Pick where you are, where you're going, and your salary. This scales it by each city's cost-of-living index.

Equivalent Salary

$156,408

needed in San Francisco to match

Your salary

Living in

Moving to

Cost index, Austin, TX103

Cost index, San Francisco, CA179

Salary to match$156,408

A raise on paper can be a cut in real life

When you get an offer in a new city, the salary number alone does not tell you if you will be better off. What matters is the salary relative to what it costs to live there. Rent is usually the biggest swing, but groceries, transport and everything else move too. If a city costs 60% more and the offer is only 30% higher, you would actually be worse off day to day. Flip the two cities in this tool and you will see the reverse: moving somewhere cheaper can mean the same lifestyle on a smaller salary.

Uses relative cost-of-living indexes where the national average is 100. City costs vary by neighborhood and change over time, so treat this as a guide. Not financial advice.

How the comparison is worked out

Each city carries a cost-of-living index where the national average is 100. The equivalent salary is the current salary scaled by the ratio of the two indexes: salary times the destination index divided by the home-city index. Austin sits at an index of 103 and San Francisco at 179, so a $90,000 Austin salary scales to about $156,408 to hold the same lifestyle.

That gap works out to roughly 73.8% more, the difference between the two indexes. Because the math is a ratio, it runs in both directions. Moving to a cheaper city flips the result, and the same lifestyle costs less than the salary you have now.

The index blends housing, groceries, transport and other everyday costs, with rent usually the largest single factor. Costs vary by neighborhood and shift over time, so treat the result as a guide for weighing an offer rather than an exact budget. To see what either salary looks like after tax, use the take-home pay tool, and the methodology page explains the index.

Common questions

How do I compare salaries between cities?

Scale the salary by the ratio of the two cities' cost indexes. If the new city costs 50% more, you need about 50% more salary to keep the same lifestyle.

Does a higher salary always mean I am better off?

Not always. If a city costs 60% more to live in but the offer is only 30% higher, the raise on paper is a pay cut in real terms. What matters is the salary next to local prices, which is what the ratio captures.

Does this include state income tax?

No. The comparison is on living costs only. Two cities in different states can also differ on income tax, which changes take-home pay on top of costs. Check that separately with the take-home pay tool.