Cost of Living Raise Calculator: What Salary Do You Need in a New City?
See the raise you need to keep buying power between two U.S. cities: equivalent salary from BEA price data, take-home at both ends, and whether an offer is a real cut.
Developers: this data is available as a free JSON API → API docs
Estimate only - not tax advice. Tax year 2026, federal + FICA + state income tax (single or married filing jointly). Excludes local/city income taxes (e.g., NYC, Philadelphia) and individual credits. Cost-of-living figures are BEA Regional Price Parities. See our methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
We divide the destination city's Regional Price Parity by your current city's RPP and multiply your salary by the result. RPPs come from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and measure local prices against a national average of 100, so the math is your salary x destination RPP / origin RPP.
The equivalent salary matches prices only. Moving to a pricier, higher-tax state pushes part of your raise into higher federal brackets and a state income tax, so holding your real take-home takes more. Example: $95,000 in Austin equals $106,971 in San Jose on prices alone, but $118,411 after California and federal taxes are counted.
It keeps your gross income even with local prices, which is the standard bar. After taxes it depends on direction: moves to a higher-tax state need a bit more, moves to a state with no income tax need less. And if your pay stays flat while the destination costs more, the calculator will tell you plainly that you are taking a real-terms pay cut.