Cost of Living Calculator
Find the equivalent salary you'd need in another city using cost-of-living indexes.
Related tools
All Savings & budgeting tools →Enter Current salary, Current city cost index, New city cost index and the Cost of Living Calculator works out Equivalent salary, Cost difference straight away. For instance, with Current salary = 50,000, Current city cost index = 100 and New city cost index = 100 it returns Equivalent salary = $50,000.00 and Cost difference = 0%.
How to use it
- Enter your values: Current salary, Current city cost index, New city cost index.
- Read the result instantly: Equivalent salary, Cost difference.
Frequently asked questions
How does the Cost of Living Calculator work?
It takes Current salary, Current city cost index and New city cost index and derives Equivalent salary and Cost difference from them. The calculation is live as you type, so the result updates on every change.
Which values does the calculator ask for?
3 values: Current salary, Current city cost index and New city cost index. Nothing else is required — no account, no file upload.
What does a typical calculation look like?
With Current salary = 50,000, Current city cost index = 100 and New city cost index = 100, the calculator returns Equivalent salary = $50,000.00 and Cost difference = 0%. Those figures come from running this exact tool, so you can reproduce them by entering the same values.
How much does the result change with different inputs?
It moves a lot. Using Current salary = 100,000, Current city cost index = 200 and New city cost index = 200 instead, Equivalent salary goes from $50,000.00 to $100,000.00 — which is why it is worth testing a few scenarios rather than trusting a single figure.
What does it give for smaller values?
Scaled down to Current salary = 0, Current city cost index = 1 and New city cost index = 1, Equivalent salary comes out at $0.00. The relationship is worth checking at both ends before you rely on a single result.
When would I actually use this?
Planning a deposit, a safety net or a large purchase: how much to put aside each month, and how long a target takes at a given rate.
What is the most common mistake?
Reading a nominal rate as if it were real. Inflation is subtracted from the return, not from the capital, so a 3% account during 4% inflation loses purchasing power every year.
What is the difference between the Cost of Living Calculator and the College Cost Calculator?
This one returns Equivalent salary and Cost difference; the College Cost Calculator returns Result. That is the whole difference — open the one whose figure you need.
Is there a tool for the next step?
Cost of Raising a Child Calculator is the closest one after this: Builds on the USDA Expenditures on Children by Families tables (2015 data, the last edition published), restated in today's money and projected forward at your inflation rate. Applies the economies of scale the source measured — an only child costs 27% more, a third child 24% less — and optionally adds four years of college.
What else is worth having open alongside it?
Cost of equity calculator (CAPM & DDM) and Actual cash value calculator — they come up in the same task often enough to be worth a second tab.