Equivalent Income Calculator
A $70,000 salary in San Francisco and a $70,000 salary in Austin are not the same salary. One leaves you comfortable, the other leaves you house-hunting with confidence. Raw income numbers hide cost of living, taxes, benefits, and hours worked, which is why comparing job offers by the headline number alone misleads people every day.
This calculator compares income three ways: across cities with a cost-of-living index, after taxes and benefits for true take-home pay, and as an hourly equivalent so part-time and full-time offers can be judged fairly.
Compare salaries across cities, after tax, or by the hour.
Cost indexes use the US average = 100 convention (a 187 index means costs run 87% above average). City indexes are estimates; confirm with current data before negotiating.
How to use the equivalent income calculator
Compare cities: enter your current salary and the cost-of-living index for both cities (US average = 100). The tool shows the salary you would need in the target city for equal purchasing power, plus the raise or affordable pay cut involved.
After-tax income: enter gross income, total taxes and deductions, and the dollar value of benefits. You get true take-home equivalent income, which is the number that actually funds your life.
Hourly equivalent: enter gross income, expenses, yearly hours, and benefits. Useful when one offer is salaried and another is hourly or part-time.
Equivalent income formulas
City comparison: equivalent salary = current salary x (target city index / current city index). Raise needed = equivalent salary - current salary. Cost difference % = (target index - current index) / current index x 100.
After-tax: equivalent income = gross income - taxes and deductions + benefits. Hourly: equivalent hourly = (gross - expenses + benefits) / hours worked.
Worked example
Sarah earns $70,000 in San Francisco (index 180) and considers Austin (index 110). Equivalent = 70,000 x 110 / 180 = $42,777.78. She could accept roughly $42,800 in Austin with no loss of purchasing power; the cost difference is (110 - 180) / 180 x 100 = -38.9%.
After-tax check: $90,000 gross with $22,000 in taxes and deductions plus $8,000 in benefits = $76,000 of real income. Hourly check: $80,000 gross, $20,000 expenses, 2,000 hours, $5,000 benefits gives ($80,000 - $20,000 + $5,000) / 2,000 = $32.50 per hour.
What competitors miss
The top result for this keyword (realmoneyiq) explains the city-ratio math well but stops there: no after-tax handling, no benefits, no hourly conversion. Calculator Academy's salary-match tool is a single formula with no tax or benefits lens. The annual-to-hourly tables (calculator.me) are pre-tax only, so they overstate take-home pay, and the tax-equivalent yield calculators (mymoneyblog) solve an investment problem, not a salary one. None of them frame the answer as the raise you need to ask for. This tool combines all three lenses and states the raise-or-cut number directly, with copy and share so the figure can go straight into a negotiation.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find cost of living indexes?
Public sources include Numbeo's city indexes, the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) data, and government statistics. Use the most recent figures you can find and keep both cities on the same index.
Does the city comparison include taxes?
No. Cost indexes measure prices, not tax bills. State income tax differences can be large (Texas has none, California's top rate exceeds 13%), so run the after-tax mode too when taxes differ meaningfully.
Why is the percentage different going each direction?
Because the denominator changes. Moving from an index-103 city to an index-187 city needs about an 82% raise, but moving back survives a 45% cut. Both are correct; the percentage always depends on where you start.
Is equivalent income the same as real income?
No. Real income adjusts for inflation over time. Equivalent income adjusts for location and conditions at one point in time. You need both for a full picture across years and cities.
Should remote workers use this?
Yes, especially when a company sets pay by location. Your salary stretches differently depending on where you live, which is exactly what the city comparison measures.
What about exchange rates for jobs abroad?
Convert both salaries to one currency first, then compare with local cost indexes. Currency strength affects purchasing power on top of local prices.