Can You Afford to Move? Compare Cost of Living Between Cities.

A job offer in a new city looks great on paper until you account for what that city actually costs. A $120,000 offer in San Francisco has less purchasing power than $85,000 in Phoenix. A $95,000 offer in Austin beats $115,000 in Seattle for many people — after taxes, housing, and transportation. Raw salary comparison without cost-of-living adjustment is one of the most common financial mistakes people make when evaluating a relocation. This calculator compares cost of living between two US cities across the categories that actually matter: housing (the biggest driver), transportation, food, healthcare, and utilities. It shows you your equivalent salary in City B — the income you'd need to maintain exactly your current standard of living — and the total monthly cost difference between the two locations. The data is derived from cost-of-living index models that weight expenses by their share of typical household budgets. Housing dominates the comparison in most cases, accounting for 30–40% of typical spending, which is why moving from San Francisco to Austin can feel like getting a 25–30% raise even at the same nominal salary. The result is a decision framework, not just a number: how much would you need to earn to be better off in City B, how much do you save (or lose) per month, and what does that mean over a 5-year horizon? These are the right questions to answer before accepting a relocation offer or considering a cost-of-living migration.

COL Ratio = City B Index / City A Index Equivalent Salary = Current Salary × COL Ratio Monthly Differential = (City B Monthly Costs) – (City A Monthly Costs) where Monthly Costs = Monthly Income × (COL Index / 100) × allocation weight 5-Year Differential = Monthly Differential × 60 Purchasing Power Gain/Loss = (Offered Salary – Equivalent Salary Needed) / Equivalent Salary Needed × 100