Cost of Living Comparison Calculator
This uses your own figures rather than a built-in city index, because published indices are averages of a lifestyle that may not resemble yours — and a stale index is worse than no index. Look up real rents and prices for both places, enter them, and the comparison will be about your actual life.
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Why this asks you to do the research
Published cost-of-living indices compress an entire city into one number, based on a basket that may look nothing like your spending. If you do not own a car, transport costs in a car-dependent city are irrelevant to you. If you rent a room rather than a house, the median rent overstates your position badly.
Twenty minutes on rental listings and a grocery site for both places produces a far better answer than any index, and it is specific to how you actually live.
Housing dominates, and taxes are the hidden term
Housing is usually the largest single difference and often outweighs everything else combined. The other large term is not in this calculator at all: state and local income tax. Moving between a state with no income tax and one with a high rate changes take-home pay substantially before any living cost is considered, so check both rates before treating the equivalent salary as final.
What the equivalent salary means
It is the salary that leaves you with the same money left over each month, not the same lifestyle. If the new place has better public transport, or worse weather, or is closer to family, none of that appears here. The number is a floor for negotiation, not a complete answer.
Frequently asked questions
How much more do I need to earn to move?
Enough to cover the difference in total living costs, which the equivalent salary shows. Then add the effect of any difference in state or local income tax, which this does not model.
Why not use a cost-of-living index?
Indices are averages over a basket that may not match your spending, and they date quickly. Your own researched figures for housing and food will be more accurate for your situation.
What about one-off moving costs?
Not included. Removals, deposits, and a period of overlapping rent are real and can run into thousands. Budget for them separately.