Work out the salary you'd need in a new city to keep the same standard of living — including the state tax difference.
Salary needed
$115,425
To match your current lifestyle.
Cost index only.
Purchasing power where you live now.
The new city's cost index is 35% higher than your current one, so your $90,000 salary maps to $121,500 before tax. Factoring the state income tax difference (5% now versus 0% there), you'd need roughly $115,425 — $25,425 more than today.
Moving from a 5% state to a 0% one reduces the salary you need by about $6,075. State income tax is one of the largest and most overlooked factors in relocation — but check property and sales taxes too, since no-income-tax states often recover revenue through those.
A general cost index blends housing, food, transport, healthcare and more, but housing alone typically drives most of the difference between cities and varies enormously within a metro area. Before relying on any index, price actual rentals or homes in the specific neighborhoods you'd consider. The index gets you in the right ballpark; real listings tell you the truth.
Once you have a target salary, see what actually lands in your account after federal tax, FICA and the new state's rate.
Paycheck calculatorWorked scenarios with the full analysis, so you can see how the numbers move before entering your own.
A common relocation to a higher-cost metro, with a move to a no-income-tax state.
Salary needed
$115,425
The new city's cost index is 35% higher than your current one, so your $90,000 salary maps to $121,500 before tax. Factoring the state income tax difference (5% now versus 0% there), you'd need roughly $115,425 — $25,425 more than today.
Moving from a 5% state to a 0% one reduces the salary you need by about $6,075. State income tax is one of the largest and most overlooked factors in relocation — but check property and sales taxes too, since no-income-tax states often recover revenue through those.
A general cost index blends housing, food, transport, healthcare and more, but housing alone typically drives most of the difference between cities and varies enormously within a metro area. Before relying on any index, price actual rentals or homes in the specific neighborhoods you'd consider. The index gets you in the right ballpark; real listings tell you the truth.
Testing whether an offered salary actually keeps you whole after cost and tax differences.
Salary needed
$115,425
The new city's cost index is 35% higher than your current one, so your $90,000 salary maps to $121,500 before tax. Factoring the state income tax difference (5% now versus 0% there), you'd need roughly $115,425 — $25,425 more than today.
You'd need $115,425 to maintain your current standard of living, so $115,000 is effectively a pay cut in real terms — worth about $89,669 in your current city's terms despite the headline number. That may still be worth it for non-financial reasons, but it's important to see it clearly.
Moving from a 5% state to a 0% one reduces the salary you need by about $6,075. State income tax is one of the largest and most overlooked factors in relocation — but check property and sales taxes too, since no-income-tax states often recover revenue through those.
Relocating to a lower-cost area, where you could accept less and still come out ahead.
Salary needed
$72,800
The new city's cost index is 37% lower than your current one, so your $120,000 salary maps to $76,000 before tax. Factoring the state income tax difference (9% now versus 5% there), you'd need roughly $72,800 — $47,200 less than today.
Moving from a 9% state to a 5% one reduces the salary you need by about $3,200. State income tax is one of the largest and most overlooked factors in relocation — but check property and sales taxes too, since no-income-tax states often recover revenue through those.
A general cost index blends housing, food, transport, healthcare and more, but housing alone typically drives most of the difference between cities and varies enormously within a metro area. Before relying on any index, price actual rentals or homes in the specific neighborhoods you'd consider. The index gets you in the right ballpark; real listings tell you the truth.
Two cities with similar costs but very different state income tax rates.
Salary needed
$90,700
The new city's cost index is 0% higher than your current one, so your $100,000 salary maps to $100,000 before tax. Factoring the state income tax difference (9.30% now versus 0% there), you'd need roughly $90,700 — $9,300 less than today.
Moving from a 9.30% state to a 0% one reduces the salary you need by about $9,300. State income tax is one of the largest and most overlooked factors in relocation — but check property and sales taxes too, since no-income-tax states often recover revenue through those.
A general cost index blends housing, food, transport, healthcare and more, but housing alone typically drives most of the difference between cities and varies enormously within a metro area. Before relying on any index, price actual rentals or homes in the specific neighborhoods you'd consider. The index gets you in the right ballpark; real listings tell you the truth.
A cost of living index expresses how expensive a city is relative to a baseline, usually 100 for the national average. If your current city is 100 and the new one is 135, everyday costs are roughly 35% higher, so you'd need about 35% more salary to maintain the same lifestyle before considering taxes.
This calculator asks you to supply the indexes rather than guessing them, because cost data varies by source and goes out of date quickly — and inventing numbers would be worse than useless for a decision this significant. Pull indexes from a source you trust, then let the calculator handle the salary and state tax math.
A blended index averages across housing, food, transport, healthcare and utilities, but those don't move together. Housing is by far the biggest driver of differences between cities and varies enormously within a single metro — two neighborhoods twenty minutes apart can differ by 50%. Always price actual rentals or homes in the areas you'd realistically live.
Taxes deserve their own analysis. State income tax is the obvious one, and moving to a no-income-tax state can be worth a large effective raise. But those states often recover revenue through higher property or sales taxes, so a homeowner may see less benefit than a renter. Also weigh commute costs, whether you'd need a car, health insurance differences, and how the local job market affects your future options — a higher-cost city with far more opportunities can be worth a temporary squeeze.
A larger nominal salary in a costlier city can be a real pay cut. Always convert to equivalent purchasing power.
The difference between a 9% state and a no-tax state is worth a large effective raise. Include it in the comparison.
Costs vary hugely within a metro. Price actual housing in the neighborhoods you'd genuinely consider.
No-income-tax states often have higher property or sales taxes, which can offset the benefit for homeowners.
A costlier city with a deeper job market may be worth more over a career than the immediate cost difference suggests.
Multiply your current salary by the ratio of the two cities' cost indexes, then adjust for any state income tax difference. Moving from an index of 100 to 135 means you need about 35% more before tax. Enter your indexes and tax rates above for a specific figure, including the tax adjustment.
Calculate the salary that would keep your standard of living equal, then compare the offer to it. An offer that looks like a large raise can be a real pay cut in a much costlier city — and a lower offer in a cheaper, no-income-tax state can be a genuine raise. Enter the offer above to see its value in your current city's terms.
Significantly. Moving from a 9% state to a no-income-tax state effectively raises your take-home by that amount, which can be worth tens of thousands on a good salary. But check property and sales taxes too — states without income tax often have higher rates elsewhere, so the benefit varies between renters and homeowners.
It's a number expressing a city's costs relative to a baseline, typically 100 for the national average. An index of 135 means costs are about 35% above average. Indexes blend housing, food, transport, healthcare and utilities, and they differ between sources — use one you trust and treat it as an estimate, not a precise figure.
Because cost of living data varies by source, goes stale quickly, and differs enormously within a single metro area. Publishing figures that might be wrong for a decision as consequential as relocating would do more harm than good. Instead, you supply indexes from a source you trust and the calculator handles the salary and tax math accurately.
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