Cost of Living Comparison Calculator

Q: Which U.S. cities have the highest cost of living?

The priciest large metros are usually: New York City , driven by rent and a local income tax San Francisco and San Jose, CA , with very high home prices Honolulu, HI , where food is shipped in and power is costly Boston, MA, Washington, DC, and Seattle, WA Most of these run 40% to 130% above the U.S. average, and housing is the main reason.

Q: Which states have no state income tax?

Nine states do not tax wage income: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming . You still pay federal income tax everywhere. These states often charge higher sales tax or property tax to make up the money, so check those before you move.

Q: What percentage of my income should go to rent?

The old rule is 30% of your gross pay . On $95,000 a year, that is about $2,375 a month. A better check is 30% of your take-home pay, since taxes differ by state. In expensive cities many people pay 40% or more, which leaves little for savings.

Q: How much does the cost of living go up each year?

In normal years, U.S. prices rise about 2% to 3% a year. Some years are much worse. In 2022 it hit about 8%. That matters for a move. If you take a job at the same pay and prices climb 3%, your money buys less next year unless you get a raise.

Q: What is the difference between cost of living and standard of living?

Cost of living is what things cost where you live. Standard of living is how well you actually live on your money. You can earn more in a costly city and still have a lower standard of living, because rent and taxes eat the extra pay. Compare what is left over, not the salary.

Q: How much money should I save before moving to a new city?

Plan for three to six months of expenses in the new city, plus moving costs. Upfront housing costs alone often run 3 to 4 times the monthly rent: first month, last month, and a security deposit. Add truck rental or movers, travel, deposits for power and internet, and a new driver's license and car registration.

Cost Of Living Comparison Calculator

Introduction

Moving to a new city? The same salary can feel very different once you get there. Rent, food, gas, and taxes change a lot from place to place. This cost of living comparison calculator shows the real difference between two U.S. cities.

Pick your current city and the city you are thinking about. Add your yearly income before taxes, how many adults live with you, and how many kids. The tool then prices the same basket of everyday costs in both cities and tells you how much more or less you would spend.

You also get the salary you would need in the new city to keep the same standard of living. The calculator breaks costs down by housing, food, transportation, healthcare, utilities, and other spending. A tax tab compares federal, state, and local income tax, so you can see your take-home pay in each place.

Every result comes with a step-by-step solution, so you can follow the math line by line. Use it to plan a move, weigh a job offer, or ask for the right pay.

How to use our Cost of Living Comparison Calculator

Pick two cities, type in your household income, and tell us who lives with you. The calculator shows how much more or less you need to spend in the new city, the salary you would need to live the same way, your tax burden, and a cost breakdown for housing, food, transport, healthcare, utilities, and other spending.

Current City: Type at least 2 letters of the city you live in now, then click a city from the drop-down list. You must pick from the list for the cost of living comparison to work.

Comparison City: Type the city you want to move to or compare, then choose it from the list. Use the swap button between the two boxes to flip the cities around.

Pre-Tax Household Income: Enter your total yearly household pay before taxes. Add up the income of everyone in the home. This sets your spending level and your federal, state, and local income tax estimate.

Adults in Household: Choose 1 or 2. One adult is treated as a single tax filer. Two adults are treated as married filing jointly.

Children in Household: Choose 0, 1, 2, or 3 kids. Children raise food, housing, and healthcare costs, and they count as dependents for the child tax credit.

Show Costs As: Pick "Per month" or "Per year" to change how the cost numbers are shown. Income taxes are always shown per year.

Click Compare to see your results, or Reset to start over with the default settings.

What Is a Cost of Living Comparison?

Cost of living is how much money you need to pay for normal life in one place. That means rent or a mortgage, food, gas, power bills, doctor visits, and everyday shopping. The same job with the same pay can feel rich in one city and tight in another. A cost of living comparison puts two cities side by side so you can see the real gap.

How the Cost of Living Index Works

Most city costs are shown as an index number. The average U.S. city is set at 100. A city with an index of 145 costs about 45% more than average. A city at 88 costs about 12% less than average. To compare two cities, you look at the gap between their index numbers, not the gap from 100.

What Goes Into the Number

Housing: rent or mortgage, usually the biggest cost and the one that changes most between cities.
Food and groceries: what you spend at the store each month.
Transportation: car payments, gas, insurance, repairs, or transit passes.
Healthcare: doctor visits, dentist, and medicine.
Utilities: electric, gas, water, and internet.
Miscellaneous: clothes, haircuts, pets, fun, and other goods and services.

Housing carries the most weight, about 30% of a normal household budget. That is why two cities can have similar food prices but very different overall costs.

Why Taxes Matter Too

Prices are only half the story. Your take-home pay depends on income tax. Nine states, like Texas, Florida, Washington, and Nevada, have no state income tax. Others, like California, New York, and Hawaii, have high top rates. A few cities, such as New York City, Philadelphia, and Columbus, add their own local income tax on top. Moving to a cheaper city with a higher tax rate can cancel out part of your savings, so compare after-tax dollars, not just salary.

Equivalent Salary: The Number to Ask For

An equivalent salary answers one simple question: how much would you need to earn in the new city to live the same way you live now? If the new city costs 25% more, a $80,000 salary needs to become about $100,000 to keep the same standard of living. That is the figure to bring up when you get a job offer in another city or ask for a raise after a move.

Tips Before You Move

Check real rent listings in the exact neighborhood you want. City averages hide big swings.
Add moving costs, a security deposit, and a few months of extra savings.
Look at commute time and car needs. A car-free city can save thousands a year.
Remember sales tax and property tax, which are not part of income tax.
Compare your whole household, since kids add food, childcare, and healthcare costs.

Cost of living numbers are estimates based on typical spending. Your own bills depend on your habits, your home size, and your job. Use the comparison as a strong starting point, then build a real budget for the city you are moving to.

Formulas used

City category cost (basket item priced by local index)

C_{k,\text{city}} = B_{k,\text{nat}} \times \frac{I_{k,\text{city}}}{100}

Total household basket cost in a city

C_{\text{city}} = \sum_{k \in \{\text{housing, food, transport, health, utilities, misc}\}} B_{k,\text{nat}} \times \frac{I_{k,\text{city}}}{100}

Cost of living percentage difference between cities

\Delta = \frac{C_B - C_A}{C_A} \times 100\%

Equivalent gross income needed in the comparison city

I_B = I_A \times \frac{C_B}{C_A}

Progressive income tax on taxable income

T = \sum_{i} r_i \times \left[ \min(\text{Taxable}, b_i \cdot m) - b_{i-1} \cdot m \right]^{+}

Federal tax after standard deduction and child tax credit

T_{\text{fed}} = \max\!\left(0,\; T(\max(0,\, \text{AGI} - D_{\text{std}})) - \left[2000 k - 50 \left\lceil \frac{\max(0,\,\text{AGI} - P)}{1000} \right\rceil \right]^{+} \right)

Take-home (net) pay after federal, state and local income tax

N = I - T_{\text{fed}} - T_{\text{state}} - T_{\text{local}}, \qquad T_{\text{local}} = r_{\text{local}} \times \max(0,\, \text{AGI} - D_{\text{std}} - E - d k)

After-tax equivalent gross salary (solved numerically)

N_B(I_B^{*}) = N_A \times \frac{C_B}{C_A}

Frequently asked questions

Which U.S. cities have the highest cost of living?

The priciest large metros are usually:

New York City, driven by rent and a local income tax
San Francisco and San Jose, CA, with very high home prices
Honolulu, HI, where food is shipped in and power is costly
Boston, MA, Washington, DC, and Seattle, WA

Most of these run 40% to 130% above the U.S. average, and housing is the main reason.

Which states have no state income tax?

Nine states do not tax wage income: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.

You still pay federal income tax everywhere. These states often charge higher sales tax or property tax to make up the money, so check those before you move.

Which cities charge a local income tax?

A handful of cities take an extra cut of your pay on top of state tax. Common ones include:

New York City, NY, about 3.0% to 3.9%
Philadelphia, PA, about 3.75%
Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, OH, about 1.8% to 2.5%
Detroit, MI, Baltimore, MD, Louisville, KY, and Indianapolis, IN

It looks small, but 3% of a $95,000 salary is over $2,800 a year.

What percentage of my income should go to rent?

The old rule is 30% of your gross pay. On $95,000 a year, that is about $2,375 a month.

A better check is 30% of your take-home pay, since taxes differ by state. In expensive cities many people pay 40% or more, which leaves little for savings.

What is a cost of living adjustment (COLA)?

A COLA is a raise that keeps your pay even with rising prices. Social Security gives one most years, and some employers do too.

It is different from a relocation adjustment. A COLA tracks inflation over time. A relocation adjustment changes your pay because you moved to a pricier or cheaper city.

How much does the cost of living go up each year?

In normal years, U.S. prices rise about 2% to 3% a year. Some years are much worse. In 2022 it hit about 8%.

That matters for a move. If you take a job at the same pay and prices climb 3%, your money buys less next year unless you get a raise.

What is the difference between cost of living and standard of living?

Cost of living is what things cost where you live. Standard of living is how well you actually live on your money.

You can earn more in a costly city and still have a lower standard of living, because rent and taxes eat the extra pay. Compare what is left over, not the salary.

How do I ask for more pay when I move to a more expensive city?

Bring numbers, not feelings. Do this:

Work out the cost gap between the two cities as a percent.
Apply that percent to your current salary to get an equivalent number.
Add the tax difference if the new state taxes income more.
Back it up with real rent listings in the area you would live.

Asking for "$118,000 to match my current buying power" beats asking for "more."

Does moving to a state with no income tax always save money?

No. Those states collect money in other ways. Texas and New Hampshire have some of the highest property taxes in the country. Washington and Nevada lean on high sales tax.

Housing can also wipe out the savings. Seattle has no state income tax, but rent there is far above the U.S. average. Compare total costs, not just tax rates.

How much money should I save before moving to a new city?

Plan for three to six months of expenses in the new city, plus moving costs.

Upfront housing costs alone often run 3 to 4 times the monthly rent: first month, last month, and a security deposit. Add truck rental or movers, travel, deposits for power and internet, and a new driver's license and car registration.

Why is housing the biggest part of cost of living?

Housing is roughly 30% of a typical household budget, more than any other category. It also swings the most between cities.

Groceries might vary 20% from city to city, but rent can easily be triple. That is why two cities with similar food prices can have totally different overall costs.

Do cost of living indexes include income taxes?

Usually no. The common index used by employers prices goods and services (housing, food, utilities, transport, healthcare, and other spending). Income tax is left out.

That is why you should check tax separately. A city can look 10% cheaper on prices and still leave you with less cash after a state or city tax bite.

Is the cost of living the same across a whole state?

Not at all. Costs change by metro area and even by neighborhood.

In New York, the city runs far above the national average while Buffalo and Rochester sit below it. In California, San Francisco is much pricier than Fresno. Always compare cities, not states, and check the specific area you would live in.

How do you calculate the cost of living difference between two cities?

Take the two index numbers and use this formula:

(New city index − Old city index) ÷ Old city index × 100

Example: moving from a city at 101 to one at 145 gives (145 − 101) ÷ 101 = 43.6% more expensive. Do not just subtract the index numbers. The gap from 100 is not the answer.