You got the offer. The salary looks good on paper. But if you're comparing two cities with different cost of living, that number means nothing until you convert it to purchasing power. A $95,000 offer in Austin might leave you with more savings than $130,000 in San Francisco—or it might not. Most people eyeball rent prices and assume they've done the math. They haven't. Rent is only 30–40% of the picture. State taxes, childcare, groceries, and commute costs shift the break-even point in ways that aren't obvious until you run the numbers.
This tool calculates the salary you need in City B to match your current lifestyle in City A. It also shows you where the gap comes from—so you can negotiate smarter or adjust your expectations before signing a lease.
The break-even salary tells you: "If I'm earning $X in City A, what do I need in City B to buy the same groceries, pay the same rent tier, and save the same percentage?" It's not a lifestyle upgrade calculation—it's a floor.
Here's how it works in practice. Say you earn $85,000 in Dallas. You spend $1,400/month on rent, $400 on groceries, $350 on car expenses, and pay no state income tax. Your effective after-tax income is about $68,000.
Now you're considering Seattle. Rent for a similar apartment runs $2,100. Groceries cost 12% more. There's no state income tax—but there's higher property tax if you buy. The calculator factors all of this in and tells you: "You need $107,000 in Seattle to match your Dallas lifestyle."
That's a 26% raise just to break even. If the Seattle offer is $100,000, you're actually taking a pay cut in real terms—about $7,000/year less purchasing power.
The salary break-even figure is your negotiation anchor. Anything below it is a lifestyle downgrade. Anything above it is real financial progress.
When people think "expensive city," they usually think "expensive rent." And yes, housing is typically the biggest single factor—it often explains 40–60% of the gap between cities. But if you stop there, you'll misjudge the true difference.
The result breakdown shows you which categories are driving your gap. If housing is 70% of the difference, you might be able to close the gap by choosing a cheaper neighborhood or getting a roommate. If taxes are 40% of the gap, there's no negotiating around it—you need a higher gross salary.
A $100,000 salary in Texas is not the same as $100,000 in California. In Texas, you keep roughly $77,000 after federal taxes and FICA. In California, you keep about $68,000—a $9,000 difference that goes straight to Sacramento.
The calculator handles this automatically when you enable "Include taxes." It estimates your effective tax rate in both cities and adjusts the required salary upward to ensure equal after-tax purchasing power.
If you're moving from a no-income-tax state to a high-tax state, you need 8–15% more gross salary just to stay even—before accounting for any cost-of-living differences in rent or groceries.
The default calculation assumes you'll live roughly the same way in both cities. But lifestyle changes can dramatically shift the math.
If you currently live alone in Dallas at $1,400/month but would get a roommate in San Francisco at $1,600/month (instead of $3,000 alone), you've just cut the housing gap by 60%. Override the City B housing cost to reflect this.
Owning a car costs $500–$800/month (payment + insurance + gas + maintenance). In NYC or Chicago, you can live car-free on $130/month transit. Set your City B transportation cost to $130 and your City A cost to $650—watch the gap shrink.
If your company pays SF salaries but lets you work from Boise, you're not comparing cities for salary—you're comparing cities for cost only. Your $150,000 SF salary in a $1,200/month Boise apartment is pure lifestyle upgrade.
Use the override fields to model these scenarios. The calculator will recalculate required salary based on your actual expected spending, not the city median.
Cost-of-living indexes are useful, but they're built on averages. Your situation might not be average. Here are the most common ways the numbers can mislead:
The calculator gives you a strong starting point. But for a move decision, validate the biggest line items (rent, childcare, commute) with real listings and local research.
Enter your combined household income in City A. The required salary output is your combined household income needed in City B. If only one person is moving or getting a new job, subtract the stay-at-home partner's income from both sides to isolate the job-switcher's required salary.
Enable the PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) toggle. This adjusts for differences in purchasing power across countries—not just exchange rates. A $1,000 basket in the US might cost €850 PPP-adjusted in Germany, even if the exchange rate says €950. PPP ensures you're comparing real purchasing power, not just currency conversions.
If "Include taxes" is enabled, use your gross salary—the calculator will compute after-tax income in both cities. If taxes are disabled, use your take-home pay. Most people should enable taxes; it's the only way to account for state income tax differences.
The calculator shows ongoing monthly costs, not moving expenses. Budget separately for movers ($2,000–$8,000), security deposits (1–2 months rent), furniture, and 1–3 months of "adjustment period" spending. Total one-time costs: $5,000–$20,000 depending on distance and city.
Yes. The defaults are city medians. If you spend less on groceries because you meal prep, or more on transportation because you drive a truck, override those fields with your actual spending. The calculator will apply City B price ratios to your custom baseline.
Price data is refreshed quarterly using BLS indices, Census data, and local market samples. For fast-moving markets (Austin, Miami, Denver), recent inflation may not be fully captured. Cross-reference with current rental listings for the most accurate picture.
Compare living costs between cities. See how much you need to earn to maintain your lifestyle.
Estimates based on sample data and user inputs.
Enter your current city and target city to see how living costs compare and what salary you'd need to maintain your lifestyle.
• City-to-city cost comparison
• Category-wise breakdown
• Required salary calculation
• PPP and inflation adjustments
Explore how living costs vary across different locations