Salary Equivalence Calculator — Compare Pay Across Cities
A job offer in a new city sounds great — until you realise everything costs more (or less) there. This calculator converts your current salary into an equivalent salary for a different location, based on cost-of-living index numbers you look up for each city (we point you to where to find honest, current numbers rather than guessing them ourselves).
We don't publish our own city cost-of-living numbers (they change constantly) — look up both cities on a live index like Numbeo, and enter them here.
How to use this tool
- Look up the cost-of-living index for your current city and the city you're considering (Numbeo and similar sites publish free, regularly-updated indices).
- Enter your current salary and both index numbers.
- Press Calculate — you'll see the salary you'd need in the new city to maintain the same purchasing power.
- Use this as a starting point in salary negotiations for a relocation, not a guarantee.
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn't this tool have its own city cost data?
Cost of living changes constantly (rent especially can shift month to month), and a stale or wrong number could badly mislead a relocation decision. Rather than publish figures that go out of date, we point you to a live index and just do the math accurately on the numbers you find — the calculation is always current even if we never update a database.
Where can I find a reliable cost-of-living index?
Numbeo is the most widely used free, crowd-sourced cost-of-living database and lets you compare any two cities directly. Mercer and ECA International publish more rigorous (often employer-grade) indices, though usually behind a paywall for full reports.
Does this account for tax differences between countries?
No — this purely adjusts for cost of living (what things cost), not tax rates (what you keep). If you're comparing an international move, also check take-home pay in each country separately, since tax systems vary enormously — use our country-specific take-home pay calculators for that.
Is a higher cost-of-living index always bad?
Not necessarily — expensive cities often also pay higher salaries and offer better career opportunities, infrastructure or amenities. This tool tells you the number needed to maintain your current lifestyle; whether the move is still worth it is a broader personal decision.