Cost of Living Comparison Calculator
Compare the cost of living in two cities and see how far your income could go. Build a realistic monthly budget for housing, transportation, groceries, utilities, healthcare and personal expenses—then compare your estimated take-home pay and money left over.
Choose how to compare
We use sourced market estimates only when data is available for the selected location and category. Otherwise, use your own monthly costs. Values can be edited at any time.
City A
If utilities are included in rent, enter zero for those bills. Mortgage payment is shown as monthly cash outflow and includes principal; principal can build equity, so cash outflow is not the same as economic cost.
Leave this unchecked if any expense is still unknown. Blank values are never silently counted as zero.
City B
Use the same household size and lifestyle assumptions as City A. Do not include income taxes here if you will estimate take-home pay below. Mortgage payments are cash outflow; principal may build equity.
Leave this unchecked if any expense is still unknown. Blank values are never silently counted as zero.
Income, deductions & comparable salary
Optional. Enter gross annual salary and your own estimated effective tax rate for each city. This is a transparent estimate—not a country-specific tax engine.
City A income assumptions
ⓘ Include all income sources before taxes and deductions.
Do not count a deduction twice. If your effective tax rate already includes a contribution, do not add it again below.
City B income assumptions
ⓘ Include all income sources before taxes and deductions.
Use a rate that reflects your situation and jurisdiction. The calculator does not determine the correct tax rate for you. City B gross annual income is optional if you only want to estimate the salary needed there; the City B effective tax rate and monthly deductions are still required.
When both expense sets and income assumptions are complete, CalcResults estimates the gross annual salary needed in the comparison city to cover its expenses and leave a similar amount of money remaining.
It uses your tax rate, deductions, household size, and the dated exchange rate when currencies differ. It is a planning estimate, not an official tax calculation.
International currency conversion
Different currencies? CalcResults looks up a daily reference rate automatically and shows its date. The rate converts City B amounts into City A currency.
Manual rate override and rate details
Automatic rates are daily reference rates, not live trading prices. Only edit these fields if the lookup fails, the currency is unsupported, or you need a specific dated rate.
Example: if City A is USD and City B is EUR, enter the number of USD for 1 EUR. Conversion does not adjust for purchasing power, local price levels, taxes, or housing quality.
Rates provided by Frankfurter.
YOUR FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
Cost of Living Comparison
Enter both city names, select currencies, and complete the expense fields to calculate a comparison.
Monthly cost breakdown
Compare the categories you entered
Complete both expense sets to see the breakdown.
Cost comparison chart
Monthly expenses by category
Your category chart will appear here after a valid comparison.
Key insights
What your entries suggest
Insights appear after the comparison is complete.
What the numbers suggest
Automated perspective based on your inputs
For comparison purposes only—not financial, tax, or relocation advice.
Take-home pay & salary needed
Optional estimates using your tax assumptions
Estimates use the amounts you enter and, when needed, a dated exchange rate. Currency conversion is not purchasing-power parity. Tax and salary figures are planning estimates, not official tax calculations.
How to compare the cost of living fairly
Enter each household size and start with comparable housing standards, commuting patterns and monthly periods. If household sizes differ, the calculator compares per-person spending and withholds household-level salary equivalence. Use estimates you trust and record their source and date. Market mode can load only a supported U.S. Census median gross-rent estimate; all other expense categories remain unfilled unless you enter them yourself.
Expense categories and avoiding double counting
- Housing: include rent or the full mortgage cash payment, property taxes or local housing fees, insurance, maintenance and service charges. For renters, enter zero for owner-only costs.
- Utilities: if rent includes heat, water or internet, enter zero for the included item so you do not count it twice.
- Transportation: separate fuel, transit, vehicle payment, insurance, parking, tolls and maintenance.
- Food: separate groceries from restaurants and takeaway.
- Healthcare: include premiums and out-of-pocket costs that you pay yourself.
- Family and personal: include childcare, education, personal care, clothing, subscriptions and other recurring costs relevant to your household.
- Taxes: do not add income tax as an expense if you are comparing against take-home income. The optional income estimator subtracts the effective tax rate once, then any additional mandatory deductions you enter.
Formulas used
Monthly expenses = sum of all entered monthly expense categories
Annualized expenses = monthly expenses × 12
Monthly estimated take-home = (gross annual salary ÷ 12) × (1 − effective tax rate) − other monthly mandatory deductions
Monthly money remaining = estimated take-home − monthly expenses
City B target gross annual salary = 12 × (City B expenses + City A monthly money remaining ÷ FX rate + City B monthly deductions) ÷ (1 − City B effective tax rate)
The salary formula is only calculated when City A money remaining and City B assumptions can be computed, household sizes match, and a valid exchange rate is available when currencies differ. The FX rate is defined as City A currency units per 1 City B currency unit; for the salary formula, City A money remaining is divided by that rate to convert it into City B currency. It assumes a constant effective tax rate, excludes unentered costs, and does not model progressive tax brackets, credits, benefits, public services, purchasing-power parity or quality-of-life differences. Negative money remaining means the entered expenses exceed estimated take-home pay.
Frequently asked questions
Why do the fields start blank?
Blank defaults avoid implying that example figures are real market estimates. Enter your own values and use zero only when a category truly has no cost.
Does this calculator use live city data or exchange rates?
It does not provide real-time city prices. The optional market mode requests free U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year housing estimates for supported U.S. Census places only; these are survey estimates, not current listings. The source and survey period are displayed. When currencies differ, it looks up a daily reference exchange rate from Frankfurter and displays its observation date. If lookup fails or a currency is unsupported, you can enter a positive rate stating how many City A currency units equal one City B unit, plus the rate date and source. City B costs are converted into City A currency for comparison. This conversion does not measure purchasing power. If household sizes differ, the page compares per-person spending rather than claiming total household costs are directly comparable.
Are tax and salary results official?
No. The optional estimate uses the effective tax rate and additional deductions you enter. It is not tax advice and does not calculate official country-specific liabilities.
What if household sizes differ?
The calculator converts expenses to a per-person basis for the headline comparison and explains that household totals are not directly comparable. It withholds comparable-lifestyle salary equivalence until household sizes match.
What does a negative difference mean?
Difference is City B minus City A. A negative value means City B's entered monthly expenses are lower for the categories included. It does not establish that City B is cheaper overall.