Methodology & data sources

Transparency is the core of our E-E-A-T: this page documents where our data comes from, the vintage of each series, and the formula behind every derived number. CostAtlas covers all 51 US states and DC. This snapshot was last compiled in June 2026.

The three published figures

• Price level — BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), all items (2022). RPPs measure differences in price levels across states, expressed relative to the US average of 100. A state at 110 has prices about 10% above the national level; a state at 90 is about 10% below. We use the all-items RPP as the headline cost-of-living index. It is published once a year and is in the U.S. public domain.
• Median household income — Census ACS (2023). The U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey median household income by state, in current dollars.
• Median gross rent — Census ACS (2023, Table B25064). The median monthly gross rent (rent plus utilities) for renter-occupied units, by state.

All three are captured as a committed static snapshot. We do not invent precise figures; the only numbers we generate ourselves are the clearly labelled calculations below.

The "salary needed" formula

To estimate the salary you'd need to keep the same standard of living after moving between two states, we scale your salary by the ratio of their price levels:

equivalent salary = current salary × (RPP of destination ÷ RPP of origin)

For example, moving from a state at RPP 97.5 to one at RPP 112.5, a $100,000 salary becomes 100,000 × (112.5 ÷ 97.5) ≈ $115,385. The same logic powers the per-state "salary needed vs US average", which uses RPP ÷ 100. This estimates differences in price level only.

Important limitations

• Statewide averages. RPP is a single number for an entire state; a specific city (San Francisco, rural Texas) can be far above or below it.
• No taxes. The salary-needed figure ignores state income tax, sales tax and property tax, which can materially change a real comparison.
• No salary market. It does not tell you what a job actually pays in the destination state.
• Different vintages. Price levels (2022) and income/rent (2023) come from different years and may lag the present.

Treat every figure as an estimate for general information — verify with the primary source before making a financial decision. This is not financial advice. See our disclaimer.

Data sources

How calculations work

Calculators run entirely in your browser using standard, published formulas (shown on each tool page). We do not store your inputs.

Limitations

Figures are estimates for general information and may lag the underlying source or contain errors. Always verify against the primary source before relying on them. See our disclaimer.