If I move to City B,
what salary do I need?
ReloMath converts your current salary into its equivalent in any U.S. metro using official BLS Regional Price Parities, not guesswork.
Compare cost of living
Select any two verified metros to see the equivalent salary and rent benchmark.
Equivalent salary needed
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To maintain your current purchasing power
Overall cost difference
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RPP index: dest vs. origin
Median 2-BR rent
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HUD Fair Market Rent (destination)
This tool provides estimates only. Equivalent-salary figures are derived from BLS Regional Price Parities (RPP) and HUD Fair Market Rents — they are averages, not guarantees. Actual cost of living varies by neighborhood, lifestyle, and individual circumstances. Not financial advice.
How the math works
BLS Regional Price Parities
Published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. US average = 100. A city at 120 costs 20% more than average across all goods, services, and housing.
Equivalent-salary formula
Salary needed = current salary x (destination RPP / origin RPP). $100k in RPP-100 needs $125k in RPP-125 to maintain the same purchasing power.
Source-verified data moat
Every verified metro cites its official BLS/HUD source. 20 of 67 metros are fully verified. Estimates are clearly labeled.
Popular metros
BLS RPP index (US = 100) and HUD 2-BR Fair Market Rent.
New York, NY
NY
2-BR rent: $2,330/mo
San Francisco, CA
CA
2-BR rent: $3,050/mo
Los Angeles, CA
CA
2-BR rent: $2,250/mo
Seattle, WA
WA
2-BR rent: $2,100/mo
Washington, DC
DC
2-BR rent: $2,250/mo
Boston, MA
MA
2-BR rent: $2,640/mo
Chicago, IL
IL
2-BR rent: $1,650/mo
Austin, TX
TX
2-BR rent: $1,650/mo
Free relocation tools
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City cost-of-living comparison
Compare any two U.S. metros by BLS RPP and see the equivalent salary you need.
Metro cost-of-living database
Browse BLS RPP and HUD Fair Market Rent data for every tracked metro.
Moving cost estimator
Estimate professional moving costs by home size, distance, and season.
Relocation guides
All guides →
Planning
How to compare the cost of living between two cities
A step-by-step method for using BLS Regional Price Parities to make an apples-to-apples comparison — and the traps that trip up most people.
Planning
What salary do I need when I move?
How to convert your current salary into the equivalent income you'd need in a higher- or lower-cost city, with worked examples.
Cost of living
Cost-of-living indexes explained: RPP, C2ER, and more
What BLS Regional Price Parities actually measure — and why they're the most reliable public index for city-to-city comparison.
Common questions
- How is the equivalent salary calculated?
- We use BLS Regional Price Parities (RPP) where the national average equals 100. Equivalent salary = current salary x (destination RPP / origin RPP). Moving from RPP 100 to RPP 125 means needing 25% more income.
- What is a Regional Price Parity?
- A Regional Price Parity (RPP) is a price-level index from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. It measures how expensive a metro is relative to the U.S. average (= 100). RPP 120 means 20% more expensive than average.
- Why is housing shown separately?
- Housing is the single biggest driver of cost-of-living differences. We show the housing RPP component so you can see whether a city is expensive because of rent specifically or broadly across all goods.
Planning to buy or sell a home after your move? See closing-cost estimates at TallyClose and total build-out costs at BuildTotals.