Cost of Living Comparison
Compare what your salary needs to be in a different city to maintain the same lifestyle, using city cost-of-living indices.
Inputs
Use 100 as US average
NYC ~187, SF ~180, Chicago ~107, Austin ~119
Equivalent salary needed
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Salary delta
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Percentage change
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Without tax adjustment
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Current salary buying power in new city
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About Cost of Living Comparison
Where to find COL indices
Free sources include Numbeo (numbeo.com), BestPlaces, the Council for Community and Economic Research C2ER, and BEA Regional Price Parities. They differ slightly — use one source for both cities.
What COL includes
Housing (typically 30-40% of weight), groceries, transport, utilities, healthcare, taxes. Housing dominates — a 50% COL gap between cities is usually 80% housing.
Remote work twist
Some companies adjust pay by location, others do not. If your employer is location-agnostic, moving from NYC to Austin can be a huge real raise. If it adjusts, you might net less.