A salary that feels comfortable in one city can feel tight in another. Moving from San Francisco to Austin, for example, means a dollar stretches very differently, and the number people actually ask is simple: what salary keeps my current lifestyle on the other side? This cost of living calculator from Smekys answers that question directly. You enter your current pay, the cost-of-living index for where you live now, and the index for the place you are considering, and the tool converts your income into the equivalent salary in the new city. It also rescales your housing, groceries, and transport spending so you can see how each line of your budget changes.
The cost-of-living index works like a ruler. The national average for the United States is anchored near 100 (New York City is the classic Numbeo baseline). A city with an index of 192 — roughly San Francisco — is about twice as expensive as the average. A city at 119 — roughly Austin — is only modestly above average. Dividing one index by the other gives the ratio that links real purchasing power across places.
How to Use
- Enter Your Current Annual Salary — your gross annual income in the city you live in now. If you are moving for a job, this is the number your offer is being compared against.
- Set the Cost-of-Living Index (Your City). If you do not know it, look up your city on Numbeo; the US average is 100, San Francisco is about 192, and Austin is about 119.
- Set the Cost-of-Living Index (Destination) to the index of the city you are considering. New York is around 188, and many midwestern and southern cities sit between 85 and 105.
- Optionally add your current Monthly Housing, Monthly Groceries, and Monthly Transport. These are the three biggest recurring household lines, and they let the calculator rescale your real spending mix rather than only showing a single salary figure.
- Read the result card. Equivalent Salary in Destination is the headline: the income you would need there to match your current standard of living. Salary Adjustment Needed tells you in dollars whether the move costs you money or saves you money.
A negative adjustment means the destination is cheaper — you can keep the same lifestyle on less income. A positive adjustment means you need a raise just to stay even. Use the monthly category lines to see whether housing or groceries is doing most of the work.
The Cost-of-Living Formula
The engine uses one clean ratio, the same approach used by Numbeo and most relocation calculators:
Equivalent Salary = Your Salary × (Destination Index ÷ Your City Index)
With New York anchored at 100, the indices are already normalized, so no extra conversion is needed. For the default example, a $100,000 salary in San Francisco (index 192) compared with Austin (index 119) gives a ratio of 119 ÷ 192 = 0.6198. Multiplying $100,000 by 0.6198 yields about $61,979. That means $100,000 in San Francisco buys roughly what $61,979 buys in Austin — a $38,020 drop in the salary you actually require.
Your monthly essentials scale by the same ratio. If you currently spend $3,000 on housing, $600 on groceries, and $250 on transport, that $3,850 monthly total becomes about $2,386 in Austin — housing falls to roughly $1,859, groceries to $372, and transport to $155. Over a year, that is nearly $17,566 less spent on essentials.
Why the Index Beats a Gut Feeling
People often estimate relocation costs from rent alone, but rent is only part of the picture. groceries, dining, transportation, childcare, and services all move together, and the index blends them into a single number. A city can have cheap rent but expensive groceries, or cheap groceries but brutal commuting costs — comparing two indices averages out these offsets and gives you a purchasing-power figure you can negotiate from.
The 35/15/10 rough split most households apply — roughly 35% of spending on housing, 15% on groceries, and 10% on transport — is why this tool lets you enter those three categories directly. If your personal mix is heavier on rent (common in coastal cities) or heavier on transport (common in sprawling cities), your real savings may differ from the headline, which is exactly why the category breakdown is shown separately.
Examples
Example 1 — San Francisco to Austin. You earn $100,000 with your city index at 192 and the destination at 119. The ratio is 0.6198, so the equivalent Austin salary is about $61,979 — you are $38,020 better off without a pay cut. Your monthly essentials fall from $3,850 to about $2,386, saving roughly $17,566 a year.
Example 2 — Austin to New York. You earn $70,000 in Austin (index 119) and a New York job (index 188) offers more. The ratio is 188 ÷ 119 = 1.58. The equivalent New York salary is about $110,588 — the offer must beat that number just to keep you even, and your monthly essentials rise from $2,880 to about $4,550.
Example 3 — A six-figure executive move. You earn $1,500,000 and move from San Francisco to Austin. Scaling by the same 0.6198 ratio, the equivalent income is about $929,688 — a reminder that even high salaries are rescaled proportionally, and the absolute dollar difference grows with income.
FAQ
How is the equivalent salary between two cities calculated?
It is a simple ratio: multiply your current salary by the destination city's cost-of-living index divided by your current city's index. For example, $100,000 at index 192 moved to index 119 becomes $100,000 × (119 ÷ 192) ≈ $61,979. This is the same purchasing-power logic Numbeo uses with New York anchored at 100.
What do the cost-of-living index numbers mean?
The index is a relative price level. A value of 100 is the national (or New York) baseline. An index of 190 means the city is about 90% more expensive than the baseline; an index of 90 means it is about 10% cheaper. You can find current city values on Numbeo and type them straight into this calculator.
Is cost of living just rent?
No. It blends housing, groceries, restaurants, transportation, utilities, and services into one index. Rent usually dominates (around 30–35% of spending), but groceries and transport matter, which is why this tool rescales all three categories separately so you can see where the difference comes from.
If I move to a cheaper city, do I need a lower salary?
To keep the same lifestyle, yes — you require less income. If you keep your current salary in a cheaper city, your purchasing power rises and you can save or invest the difference. Move the destination index lower than your origin index and the "Salary Adjustment Needed" line turns negative, quantifying that surplus.
How accurate is this calculator for a real move?
It is a planning estimate, not a precise quote. Indices change quarterly and vary by neighborhood, personal spending habits, and taxes (state income tax is not included here). Use the result to negotiate a salary range and stress-test the move, then confirm against actual rent quotes and your own budget.
Does this calculator include income taxes?
No. State and local income taxes are a separate factor — for example, Texas has no state income tax, which makes the Austin-to-San-Francisco comparison even more favorable to Austin on top of the cost-of-living ratio. Pair this result with a paycheck or state-tax calculator for the full take-home picture.
Disclaimer
This cost of living calculator from Smekys is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or relocation advice. Equivalent-salary estimates rely on the cost-of-living indices you enter and a simple index ratio; actual prices vary by neighborhood, family size, spending habits, and tax jurisdiction. Always verify current city indices and compare real rent and salary offers before making a relocation decision.