Cost of Living Comparison — Salary Equivalency by US City

A move across the country rarely costs what the salary number alone suggests. This comparison works out the income you'd need in a new metro to hold onto the lifestyle you have now, using a cost-of-living index for each city on a scale where the US average is 100. That makes it a practical check when you're weighing a job offer, mapping out a relocation, or simply gauging how far your money stretches elsewhere.

Behind the result sits one overall index per city (US average = 100), plus separate indexes for housing, food, transportation and healthcare. The overall index gets applied to your current pay: (Current Salary / Current City's Cost Index) * Target City's Cost Index = Equivalent Salary. Because the index compares places at the same moment, general inflation cancels out; only the gap between the two cities matters. The category table assumes 40% of your salary goes to housing, 15% to food, 15% to transportation and 10% to healthcare, and shows how each of those amounts would change at the target city's category index.

What you get is a general equivalency, not a precise forecast for your situation. Your own spending patterns, state and local tax differences, and the kind of housing you want can all pull the real number in either direction. Look up typical pay for your field in the destination, weigh the things money doesn't capture like commute length and day-to-day quality of life, and set aside funds for the moving costs and setup expenses that come with any relocation.