How to use this calculator
- Pick where you live now and where you’re moving.
- Enter your current salary, before taxes.
- Optionally open Tax details and set your filing status.
The equivalent salary is the gross pay in your new state that leaves you with the same buying power after taxes. You also see the price difference between the two states, your take-home pay in each, and a table of every state’s price level along with the salary that would match yours there.
How the comparison works
Most cost-of-living tools scale your salary by a price index and stop there. That misses half the story: you spend your take-home pay, and state income taxes range from zero to several percent of wages. This calculator does three things:
- Works out your take-home pay where you live now, using 2026 federal withholding, Social Security, Medicare and your state’s income tax and required payroll contributions. This is the same engine as our paycheck calculator.
- Scales that take-home pay by the ratio of the two states’ price levels.
- Finds the gross salary in the new state that produces that take-home pay after its own taxes.
RPP is the state’s Regional Price Parity, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) measure of how a state’s average prices compare with the national level (U.S. = 100). A state with an RPP of 110 is 10% more expensive than the national average.
Worked example: Texas to California
You earn $75,000 in Texas and file as single.
- Price levels: California 110.7 ÷ Texas 97.1 = 1.1401, so prices are about 14% higher.
- Take-home in Texas: $75,000 minus $13,408 in federal income tax and FICA, with no state income tax = $61,593 a year.
- Take-home you’d need in California: $61,593 × 1.1401 = $70,219.
- Equivalent salary: a California salary of $95,398 leaves $70,219 after $19,455 in federal tax and FICA and $5,723 in California income tax and State Disability Insurance.
A price-only adjustment would suggest $85,505, about $9,900 too little. And if you kept your $75,000 salary, your California take-home of $57,952 would buy about 17.5% less than you can buy in Texas today.
Taxes can flip the answer
Lower prices don’t always mean you can take a pay cut:
| Move | Salary now | Price change | Equivalent salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas → California | $75,000 | +14.0% | $95,398 |
| New York → Florida | $100,000 | −4.2% | $88,083 |
| California → Texas | $100,000 | −12.3% | $78,429 |
| Illinois → Tennessee | $60,000 | −8.1% | $51,689 |
| Washington → Oregon | $90,000 | −3.4% | $95,374 |
Oregon’s prices are about 3.4% lower than Washington’s, yet you’d need a raise to move there. Washington doesn’t tax wages (you’d pay $1,248 in paid-leave and long-term-care premiums on $90,000), while at the equivalent salary Oregon’s income tax, paid-leave contribution and statewide transit tax would come to about $7,400. Going the other way, from New York to Florida, both cheaper prices and the lack of a state income tax work in your favor. All figures are for a single filer.
The most and least expensive states
BEA price levels for 2024, the latest available. “Rents” covers housing rents only.
| Most expensive | All items | Rents | Least expensive | All items | Rents | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 110.7 | 154.3 | Arkansas | 86.9 | 58.2 | |
| Hawaii | 110.0 | 125.3 | Mississippi | 87.0 | 56.5 | |
| District of Columbia | 109.9 | 155.0 | Oklahoma | 87.8 | 62.8 | |
| New Jersey | 108.8 | 134.3 | Iowa | 87.8 | 65.3 | |
| New York | 107.9 | 122.2 | Louisiana | 88.2 | 63.1 | |
| Washington | 107.0 | 126.0 | South Dakota | 88.6 | 67.6 | |
| Massachusetts | 105.8 | 128.1 | Alabama | 88.8 | 61.8 | |
| Maryland | 105.0 | 121.1 | North Dakota | 89.0 | 71.4 |
Housing is where states really differ. Across the 50 states and DC, goods prices span only 93.6 to 111.6 and non-housing services 91.2 to 104.1, but rents run from 54.2 in West Virginia to 155.0 in DC. If you’ll rent in your new state, check the rent affordability calculator against real listings; if you’ll buy, try the home affordability calculator.
Interpreting your result
- Treat it as a floor for negotiation, not a promise. Employers price jobs by the local labor market. Use the equivalent salary to judge whether an offer keeps you whole.
- Think about where in the state. The figure is a statewide average. A city with high rents, such as those in the big coastal metros, can cost much more than the state number; a rural area, less.
- Your spending mix matters. If you own a home with a fixed mortgage, rent differences affect you less. If you’ll rent, they affect you more.
- Rebuild your budget. Once you know the new take-home pay, set up your spending plan with the budget calculator, and check each paycheck with the state pages of the paycheck calculator, such as California.
Assumptions and limitations
Price levels are BEA Regional Price Parities for 2024, the latest year published as of November 2026. They compare average price levels across states in the same year; they don’t measure inflation over time (for that, see the inflation calculator). BEA also publishes price levels for metropolitan areas, which can differ a lot from their state’s average; this calculator compares states. Taxes use 2026 federal withholding rules and each state’s 2026 wage tax and required employee payroll contributions for one earner with no dependents, 401(k) or other pre-tax deductions. Local income taxes (such as New York City’s), sales and property taxes, and differences in health insurance or commuting costs are not included.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis: Real Personal Consumption Expenditures by State and Real Personal Income by State, 2024 (news release, February 19, 2026)
- BEA Interactive Data: Table SARPP, Regional Price Parities by State
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED): Regional Price Parities, All Items, for California (BEA series)
- IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods
- Tax Foundation: State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2026
This calculator gives estimates for planning a move. Your actual costs depend on where in the state you live and how you spend.
Frequently asked questions
How much do I need to make in California to live like I do in Texas?
With a $75,000 salary in Texas, you'd need about $95,398 in California as a single filer. Prices are about 14% higher there, and California taxes wages while Texas doesn't. Adjusting for prices alone would suggest $85,505, which falls about $10,000 short once state tax is counted.
Where do the price levels come from?
From the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis's Regional Price Parities for 2024, released February 19, 2026. Each state gets an index where the national average is 100, built from consumer price data and housing rents. BEA plans to publish 2025 figures on December 10, 2026.
Why does the calculator include taxes?
Because what you spend comes out of take-home pay, not gross pay. Nine states don't tax wages at all, while others take several percent. Moving from a no-tax state to a taxed one raises the salary you need, and the reverse can make a pricier state roughly break even.
Is the cost of living the same everywhere in a state?
No. These are statewide averages, and big metro areas usually cost more than the state figure, mostly because of rent. Before you decide, compare rents and prices in the town or neighborhood where you'll actually live.
Which state has the lowest cost of living?
Arkansas, with a 2024 price level of 86.9, just ahead of Mississippi at 87.0 and Iowa and Oklahoma at 87.8. California is the most expensive at 110.7, followed by Hawaii at 110.0 and the District of Columbia at 109.9.
Should I ask for a raise based on this number?
It's a reasonable starting point for a relocation conversation, since it's built on official price and tax data. But employers usually set pay by the local job market, not by your old salary. Compare it with local salary data for your role, too.
Updated November 2026. Results are estimates for educational purposes and depend on the inputs you provide.