Free cost of living calculator: compare 25 US cities with 2026 indices and find the equivalent salary to keep your lifestyle after a move.
Disclaimer: Indices are approximate 2026 cost-of-living values (US average = 100) from salario.io and cover 25 major US cities; housing, taxes, and personal spending vary widely within any city. Equivalent salary = current salary x (new-city index / current-city index). Treat the result as a starting point for negotiations, not a precise budget.
A $100,000 salary in New York City buys far less than $100,000 in Oklahoma City. This free cost of living calculator compares 25 major U.S. cities using 2026 cost-of-living indices (U.S. average = 100) to show the salary you would need in a new city to maintain the same standard of living. The math is simple: equivalent salary = your salary × (new-city index ÷ current-city index).
A cost-of-living index compresses the price of a typical basket of goods and services — housing, groceries, transportation, healthcare, utilities — into a single number. This calculator uses indices scaled so the U.S. average equals 100: a city at 150 costs roughly 50% more than average, while a city at 85 costs about 15% less.
The index values here are approximate 2026 figures from public cost-of-living data (source: salario.io). Housing dominates most indices, which is why coastal metros score so high: New York (187.2) and San Francisco (179.6) are the priciest in the set, while Oklahoma City (82.5) and Memphis (82.7) are the most affordable. Your purchasing power — what your paycheck actually buys — is what changes in a move, not just the number on the offer letter.
Indices describe city averages. Real costs vary by neighborhood, lifestyle, and taxes, so treat the equivalent salary as a starting point for negotiation and budgeting, not a precise personal budget.
Equivalent salary = current salary × (new-city index ÷ current-city index)
Difference % = (equivalent salary − current salary) ÷ current salary × 100
Worked example 1 — expensive to affordable: You earn $80,000 in New York City (index 187.2) and are moving to Austin (index 103.2). Equivalent salary = $80,000 × (103.2 ÷ 187.2) = $80,000 × 0.55128 = $44,102 (rounded). Difference = ($44,102 − $80,000) ÷ $80,000 = −44.9%. Austin costs so much less that you need less than half your NYC salary for the same lifestyle.
Worked example 2 — the reverse move: You earn $80,000 in Austin and move to New York City. Equivalent salary = $80,000 × (187.2 ÷ 103.2) = $80,000 × 1.81395 = $145,116. Difference = +81.4%. Anything less than about $145,000 in NYC is a real pay cut versus $80,000 in Austin.
You earn $95,000 in Chicago (index 107.5) and receive a $140,000 offer in San Francisco (index 179.6). Equivalent salary = $95,000 × (179.6 ÷ 107.5) = $95,000 × 1.67070 = $158,717. The $140,000 offer falls nearly $19,000 short of break-even — you would be taking a lifestyle pay cut despite the bigger number.
Second scenario: A remote worker earning $70,000 moves from Memphis (index 82.7) to Denver (index 128.7). Equivalent salary = $70,000 × (128.7 ÷ 82.7) = $70,000 × 1.55622 = $108,935. Staying at $70,000 in Denver would feel like a 35.7% pay cut; that figure is the raise to ask for — or the reason to stay put.
Salary Calculator — Convert your pay between hourly, monthly, and annual figures before comparing cities.
Take Home Paycheck Calculator — Factor in state income taxes, which the cost-of-living index only partly captures.
Income Tax Calculator — Compare the tax bite in your current state versus your destination state.
Mortgage Amortization Calculator — Housing drives most index differences; model the mortgage in each city.
Retirement Calculator — See how a move's salary change compounds into your retirement savings.
This page is a free cost of living calculator comparing 25 major US cities. Key facts: indices are approximate 2026 values with US average = 100 (source: salario.io); New York (187.2) and San Francisco (179.6) are highest, Oklahoma City (82.5) and Memphis (82.7) lowest; equivalent salary = current salary × (destination index ÷ origin index). Example: $80,000 in New York (187.2) → Austin (103.2) = ≈$44,102 (−44.9%). Treat results as approximate starting points, not precise budgets.
An index of 100 represents the U.S. national average cost of living. A city scored at 150 costs about 50% more than the average American household pays, while a city at 85 costs about 15% less. The indices on this page use that 100 = average scale.
Among the 25 cities in this calculator, New York City has the highest index at 187.2, followed by San Francisco at 179.6 and Los Angeles at 166.0. All three are driven primarily by very high housing costs.
Only indirectly. State and local taxes feed into the overall cost-of-living indices, but the equivalent-salary figure is a pre-tax comparison. For a precise move budget, run both salaries through a take-home paycheck calculator with each state's tax rules.
They are approximate 2026 values from public data (salario.io) covering city-wide averages. Neighborhood, housing choices, and personal spending vary widely, so use the equivalent salary as a negotiation starting point and build a real budget for your specific situation.
It depends on purchasing power, not the nominal number. If the offer meets or beats the equivalent salary from this calculator, your lifestyle is preserved or improved. Also weigh career growth, taxes, and housing quality before deciding.
Cite this page as: "Cost of Living Calculator." Sigma Calculator. Accessed October 20, 2026. https://sigmacalculator.net/financial-calculators/cost-of-living-calculator/
Last updated: October 20, 2026