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Cost of Living Comparison Calculator
See how far your salary goes in a new city. Enter your pay and each city cost of living index to find the equivalent salary you would need, then press Calculate.
Written by TopicDrill Editorial Team·Updated June 2026
Salary needed to match your lifestyle
Current city$75,000
New city$97,500
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How the comparison works
The calculator scales your salary by the ratio of the two cost of living indexes. If your current city sits at the national average of 100 and the city you are moving to is at 130, prices are roughly 30% higher, so you would need about 30% more income to keep the same standard of living. If the new city is cheaper, the same salary stretches further and you may come out ahead.
The index combines the major spending categories most households share: housing, groceries, utilities, transport and healthcare. Housing is usually the biggest driver of the difference between two places, so a city with high rents will pull the whole index up even if everyday goods cost about the same.
A quick example
Say you earn $75,000 in a city at index 100 and you are weighing a move to a city at index 130. To match your current lifestyle you would need about $97,500. If the offer on the table is only $90,000, the higher pay does not fully cover the higher prices, so your real spending power would drop.
Things to keep in mind
Indexes are averages, so your personal result depends on your lifestyle and especially your housing choice. Taxes are handled separately. For broad regional price data, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is a solid reference. To check the pay side of a move, try our salary and budgeting calculators.
Frequently asked questions
What is a cost of living index?
A cost of living index expresses how expensive a place is compared with a national average set at 100. A city at 120 is roughly 20% more expensive than average, and a city at 90 is about 10% cheaper. The index blends housing, groceries, transport, healthcare and other everyday costs.
How do I work out the salary I need in a new city?
Multiply your current salary by the ratio of the two indexes: new salary = current salary × (new city index ÷ current city index). If your current city is 100 and the new city is 130, you need 30% more income to maintain the same lifestyle.
Where can I find cost of living index numbers?
Several public sources publish them, including the Council for Community and Economic Research and large crowd-sourced databases. Numbers vary by source and update over time, so treat the result as a planning estimate rather than an exact figure.
Does this include taxes?
Cost of living indexes focus on prices for goods and services, not income taxes. State and local taxes can change your take-home pay significantly, so check those separately when comparing a job offer in another state.
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