Cost of Living Salary Adjustment Calculator
Find the equivalent salary in another city using cost-of-living indices — see how much you'd need to maintain the same lifestyle. Runs in your browser.
Equivalent = salary × (index B ÷ index A). Indices are approximate composite cost-of-living figures (US average = 100) covering housing, food, transport, etc.; housing differences dominate and vary by neighborhood. Use a current local index or your own estimate for precision. Ignores state/local taxes, which can shift the picture. Estimate only.
About this tool
A salary that feels comfortable in one city can fall short in another, because the same dollars buy very different amounts of housing, food, and transport. This calculator translates a salary between cities using cost-of-living indices, where the US average is set to 100: the equivalent salary equals your current salary times the destination city's index divided by your origin city's index. So $100,000 in a city indexed at 119 is equivalent to about $157,000 in one indexed at 187 — that is what you would need to maintain the same lifestyle. It includes approximate composite indices for many major US metros and lets you enter a custom index for any place. Two caveats it states clearly: housing dominates cost-of-living differences and varies sharply by neighborhood, so a metro-wide index is only a starting point; and it does not account for state and local income taxes, which can meaningfully change take-home pay between, say, a no-income-tax state and a high-tax one. Use a current local index for precision. Everything runs in your browser.
How to use it
- Enter your current salary.
- Pick your current city and the city you're comparing to (or choose Custom and enter an index).
- Read the equivalent salary needed to maintain your lifestyle.
- Adjust for taxes and your specific neighborhood for a precise comparison.
Frequently asked questions
- How is the equivalent salary calculated?
- Equivalent = your salary × (destination index ÷ origin index), using cost-of-living indices normalized to a US average of 100. Moving to a more expensive city raises the number; moving to a cheaper one lowers it.
- What does a cost-of-living index of 120 mean?
- That overall costs there are about 20% above the US average (100). An index of 90 means about 10% below average. The indices blend housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and other categories.
- Why is housing so important?
- Housing is the largest and most variable cost-of-living component, so it drives most of the difference between cities — and it varies a lot by neighborhood within a metro. A city-wide index can understate or overstate your actual situation depending on where you'd live.
- Does this include taxes?
- No. It compares cost of living, not taxes. State and local income taxes differ widely — a move to a no-income-tax state can leave you better off than the cost-of-living number alone suggests, and vice versa. Factor taxes in separately.
- How accurate are the built-in indices?
- They are approximate composite figures for orientation. Cost-of-living indices differ between sources and update over time, so for a real decision look up a current index for both specific cities (or enter your own) using the Custom option.
- Is anything uploaded?
- No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser.