How does the cost of living calculator work?

This calculator uses composite cost-of-living indices based on widely-reported data from the BEA, C2ER, and public surveys. Each city gets an index score relative to the national average (100). Your salary is adjusted proportionally — if City B is 20% more expensive than City A, you'd need 20% more income to maintain the same lifestyle.

What is the most expensive city to live in?

In the contiguous US, New York City and San Francisco consistently rank as the most expensive, driven primarily by housing. Honolulu is the most expensive overall when including grocery and utility premiums. Housing alone can be 2-3x the national average in these cities.

What is the cheapest city to live in?

Cities like Memphis, Oklahoma City, Birmingham, and Indianapolis consistently rank among the cheapest, with overall costs 10-20% below the national average. The biggest savings come from housing — a median home in Memphis costs roughly one-third of what it costs in San Francisco.

Should I negotiate salary when relocating?

Absolutely. If you're moving from Indianapolis (index ~88) to San Francisco (index ~180), your $80,000 salary would need to be roughly $163,000 to maintain the same purchasing power. Use this calculator to determine your target salary before negotiating.

Do these numbers include state income tax?

These cost-of-living indices primarily cover housing, groceries, transportation, healthcare, and utilities. They don't directly include state/local income tax differences. States like Florida, Texas, and Nevada have no state income tax, which provides an additional 5-10% effective savings compared to high-tax states like California or New York.

🏙️

Cost of Living Calculator

Compare the cost of living between 40 major US cities. See how your salary translates across locations and compare housing, groceries, transportation, healthcare, and utilities.

⚖️ Compare Two Cities

🟠 City A (Current)

🔵 City B (Target)

Your Current Salary: $75,000

$20K$500K

To maintain your lifestyle from Austin in New York, you'd need:

$133,571

+$58,571/year more

Austin Index

105

New York Index

187

Difference

+78.1%

Category-by-Category Comparison

🏠 Housing+169.6%

Rent, mortgage, property tax, insurance

🟠 Austin

115

🔵 New York

310

🛒 Groceries+21.1%

Food at home, everyday essentials

🟠 Austin

🔵 New York

115

🚗 Transportation+20.0%

Car, gas, insurance, transit

🟠 Austin

100

🔵 New York

120

🏥 Healthcare+15.8%

Insurance, copays, prescriptions

🟠 Austin

🔵 New York

110

⚡ Utilities+36.8%

Electric, gas, water, internet

🟠 Austin

🔵 New York

130

What to Do About It

Negotiate salary based on local costs. Don't accept the same salary in San Francisco that you earned in Kansas City. Show your employer the equivalent salary data.

Remote work is the ultimate arbitrage. Earning a San Francisco salary while living in Nashville gives you roughly 50% more purchasing power.

Housing drives the majority of the difference. In the most expensive cities, housing alone can be 2-3x the national average while other categories are only 5-15% higher.

Factor in state income tax. Moving from California (up to 13.3% state tax) to Texas (0%) on a $100K salary saves $8,000-$10,000/year in taxes alone.

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Cost of Living Calculator

⚖️ Compare Two Cities

Category-by-Category Comparison

What to Do About It

Free Tools, No Catch

Frequently Asked Questions

Tools & books I actually use and recommend

The Psychology of Money

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing

TradingView

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