Pick where you live now and where you might move. You get the pay that matches your salary there, and a bar comparison of goods, housing, utilities and other services, from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Inputs
USD
A state or a metro area. Metro areas are BEA’s metropolitan statistical areas.
Pay needed in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
84,823USD a year
Matches $100,000 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, at 2024 prices (−15.2% overall).
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX is about 15.2% cheaper than San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA overall, so the same pay goes further there.
Overall prices
−15.2%
Housing (rents)
−38.2%
Goods
−13.6%
Utilities
−52.5%
Other services
−9.4%
Same pay, in home dollars
$117,893
Price levels, 2024 (U.S. average = 100)
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
U.S. average (100)
All items
116
98.1
Goods
108
93.8
Housing (rents)
195
120
Utilities
173
82.0
Other services
106
96.2
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX has a price level of 98.1 and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 115.6, where the U.S. average is 100. To match $100,000 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA you would need about $84,823 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX. Housing is −38.2% and goods −13.6%, utilities −52.5% and other services −9.4%. The bars show each place's price level for all items and four categories against the U.S. average of 100.
How it works
BEA builds one price level for every state and metropolitan area by pricing the same basket of goods and services in each place and expressing it against the US average, which is set to 100. The calculator divides two of those levels:
price difference = level(to) ÷ level(from) − 1
pay you need = your pay × level(to) ÷ level(from)
buying power = your pay × level(from) ÷ level(to)
Five levels per place: all items, goods, housing (rents, including an imputed rent for owners), utilities and other services (education, food, medical, recreation, transportation and more, as BEA lists them).
The bars show each place’s level in each category against the dashed US average of 100.
States and metros. Pick a state or one of 386 metropolitan statistical areas, or the US average.
Which pay. The pay to match uses all items, since that is the whole basket, so if a place is cheap overall but expensive for something you buy a lot of, use the bars.
Worked example
Moving from San Francisco to Austin on $100,000:
All-items price levels in 2024: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 115.613, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 98.066.
Pay you need in Austin: $100,000 × 98.066 ÷ 115.613 = about $84,823, prices 15.2% lower overall.
The categories differ a lot: housing 38.2% lower, utilities 52.5% lower, goods 13.6% lower and other services 9.4% lower.
Turned around, $100,000 in Austin buys what about $117,893 would in San Francisco.
Using the result well
Treat it as a guide, not a quote. It compares average price levels. Your rent, commute and spending differ from the average basket.
Compare after-tax pay. The price levels do not include tax, so check what $84,823 in Austin nets against $100,000 in San Francisco.
Neighbourhoods matter more than metros. A metro average hides big differences between suburbs and the city centre.
Use the same year for both places. The two levels come from the same 2024 data, so the ratio is comparable even though the prices have moved since.
FAQ
How is the equivalent salary worked out?
Pay there = your pay × the destination's price level ÷ your current place's price level. Both levels are BEA regional price parities, where the US average is 100. BEA uses the same ratio to make regional income comparable; the calculator just turns it into a salary.
What is a regional price parity?
A price level as a percentage of the US average for the same basket of goods and services. An area at 110 is 10% more expensive than the national average; one at 90 is 10% cheaper. The all-items figure covers goods, housing rents, utilities and other services.
Why is housing the big difference?
Housing is the category that varies most. In 2024, housing rents were 154.3 in California and 54.2 in West Virginia, while other services were 102.6 in California and 95.3 in Arkansas, under 8% apart. BEA notes that rents are often the main driver of differences between places.
Does this include taxes?
No. Regional price parities measure prices only. State and local income, sales and property taxes, and benefits such as employer health coverage, change what you take home and need to be compared separately.
Why are the prices from 2024?
BEA published 2024 data in February 2026 and will publish 2025 data in December 2026. Since all places inflate, use the result as a ratio between places rather than as a price today.
Sources
Regional Price Parities by State and Metro Area, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Definition of a regional price parity and the 2024 highlights (California 110.7, Hawaii 110.0, New Jersey 108.8, the District of Columbia 109.9; Arkansas 86.9, Mississippi 87.0, Iowa 87.8, Oklahoma 87.8; housing rents California 154.3, West Virginia 54.2, the District of Columbia 155.0).
Table SARPP (states) and Table MARPP (metropolitan areas), bulk data files, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The five price parities (all items, goods, housing, utilities, other services) for 2024, updated 19 February 2026. The metropolitan areas are in https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/MARPP.zip. The data is kept in this site's repository, in src/data/bea-rpp.json.
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