Cost-of-Living Calculator

Whether you’re planning to move or just want to see the cost of living in different locations, our cost-of-living calculator
is the place to start. Look up cost-of-living data by city, state, or country below.

Browse Cost of Living by Popular Locations

Take a look at some of our most popular cost-of-living data by city, state, or country below.

Cost of Living by City

Evaluate your relocation decisions using cost-of-living information to see how far your salary would take you in another city. You may also utilize our search tool above to look for a different location.
For employers, explore our Relocation Assessor to see how our cost-of-living data can help with relocation decisions. Perform cost-of-living comparisons and view cost-of-living differentials based on various factors.
City, State
Compared to National Average
City, State
Compared to National Average
Browse All Cities

Cost of Living by State

Compare cost of living by state to see where the cost of living is the highest or the lowest. Check out some of our most popular state searches below or use our search bar above to find a location of interest.
For employers, see how our Geographic Assessor can help you use geographic salary differentials to set salary structures for branch offices, compare cost of living by area, review minimum wage rates, and more.
State
Compared to National Average
State
Compared to National Average
Browse All States

Cost of Living by Country

View cost-of-living data by country to make your international relocation as easy as possible. Click below or utilize the search tool above to search for a specific country.
For employers, see how our Assessor Platform can help you price jobs accurately, administer competitive benefits, and determine the cost of living for more than 35,600 jobs in over 10,500 global locations in more than 1,100 industries, all in one platform.
United States
Romania
Taiwan
Canada
Bulgaria
Chad
China
Hong Kong SAR
Indonesia
Mali
Micronesia
Switzerland
Japan
Russian Federation
Cyprus
France
Mozambique
New Zealand
Sweden
Germany
Browse All Countries
Thinking of Relocating?
See how far your current salary will take you in a new location with our cost-of-living comparison calculator.
Compare the Cost of Living

How We Calculate Our Cost-of-Living Data

ERI SalaryExpert considers five expenditure components when calculating the cost of living: housing, consumables, transportation, health care, and income and payroll taxes.

How We Calculate Our Cost-of-Living Data

ERI SalaryExpert considers five expenditure components when calculating the cost of living: housing, consumables, transportation, health care, and income and payroll taxes.

Housing

Whether you have a mortgage or rent, housing is usually the largest expense for most people. Our Relocation Assessor calculates the cost of living based on your housing circumstances, including utilities, ownership/rent, family size, and more.
Consumables are a basket of goods and services that a typical household would purchase and consume. This can include grocery products, entertainment, clothing, and more. To predict the average cost of consumable goods, we consider income level, family size, and average expenditure patterns.
Whether you take public transportation or drive a car, transportation costs may include car repairs, fuel, parking, tolls, and more. Our transportation calculations compare local data on fuel costs, public transportation costs, parking costs, and efficiency patterns of public transportation to ensure that we have accurate data in different cities.
When we report health care cost data, we consider numerous factors, such as out-of-pocket costs, carrier zone rates by location, hospital costs, and more.
Taxes can also play a role in where you want to relocate. Our cost-of-living data considers the impact of employee income taxes (both federal and state/provincial), along with other types of taxes and employee-paid rates. Our cost-of-living calculator accounts for a single earner. Our Assessor Platform provides employers with tax information affected by earnings level, family size, mortgage payments, and tax residence.

Cost of Living for Employers

Understanding cost-of-living differentials is essential to compensation management and can impact employee recruitment and retention. These pay differentials can be used to plan employee relocation, expansion, or remote work.

Explore how our Assessor Platform can help you easily compare the cost of living among various cities and analyze cost-of-living differentials based on earnings level, home size, home ownership or rental, family size, number of automobiles, and more.

Try a Free Demo Learn More
Try a Free Demo Learn More

Cost-of-Living FAQ

Cost-of-Living FAQ

ERI SalaryExpert considers five expenditure components when calculating the cost of living: housing, consumables, transportation, health care, and income and payroll taxes.

What is cost of living?

Cost of living is the cost of a standard basket of goods and services needed to sustain a certain lifestyle. Since the price of goods and services varies by city, calculating the cost of living will explain how affordable it is to live in a certain location. The expenses that factor into cost of living include consumables, transportation, health services, housing, and taxes.
Knowing the difference between cost of living and cost of labor can help you understand compensation and consumption. For an individual, the cost of living can be used to determine if they can afford to live in a new location. For a business, the cost of living can be used to manage employee relocations. Cost of labor is the amount that an organization spends on employees based on the external labor market in a particular location.
ERI SalaryExpert compiles and analyzes cost-of-living data on housing sales, gasoline, consumables, medical care premium costs, and effective income tax rates, all collected from authoritative sources. Our data are audited by our in-house research team, making it more affordable than other cost-of-living sources.
Our Assessor Platform is unique because we offer more than just third-party data. ERI SalaryExpert collects salary survey data from internal surveys, third-party salary surveys, and public sources to provide a robust database. Our cost-of-living analyses allow you to customize assumptions, such as income, home size, home ownership, family size, and more, to provide you with accurate data tailored to your organization. You can make cost-of-living comparisons for up to 1,000 cities at once.

Insights on Cost of Living

How to Calculate Labor Costs
How to Calculate Labor Costs

Get a full breakdown on labor cost formulas, including direct and indirect expenses, to plan compensation and manage budgets effectively.

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15 Most Affordable Cities to Live in the U.S.
15 Most Affordable Cities to Live in the U.S.

Check out the 15 most affordable major cities to live in the United States based on ERI SalaryExpert’s Affordability Index.

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Cost of Labor vs. Cost of Living
Cost of Labor vs. Cost of Living

This blog talks about the difference between cost of labor and cost living and how they impact total rewards.

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