You're moving to a new city - for a job, a transfer, family, or just a change - and the obvious question is: what salary do you need there to live the way you do now? Keep the same number and you might feel suddenly richer or suddenly broke, because the same paycheck buys wildly different lives in different places. Whether you're negotiating a transfer, job-hunting in the new city, or taking your remote job with you, here's how to figure out the salary a move actually requires.

The core idea: same standard of living, different number

A salary only means something relative to local costs, so the goal of a move isn't to keep the same dollar figure - it's to keep the same buying power. To do that, you scale your current salary by the difference in cost of living between the two cities. Move somewhere more expensive and you need a bigger number just to stand still; move somewhere cheaper and a smaller number leaves you exactly as well off, sometimes better.

The calculation

Every metro has a cost-of-living index, with the US average set at 100. To find the salary that keeps your standard of living after a move, use this:

New salary needed = current salary × (destination index ÷ current index)

A worked example. Say you earn $80,000 in a metro with an index of 100, and you're moving to a city with an index of 130. You'd need 80,000 × (130 ÷ 100) = $104,000 in the new city just to break even on lifestyle. If instead you're moving to a metro with an index of 85, you'd need only 80,000 × (85 ÷ 100) = $68,000 to live equally well - so an offer of $75,000 there would actually be a step up. Our salary calculator does this conversion between any two US metros automatically, and our guide on cost-of-living indices explains where the index comes from.

Don't forget take-home pay

The index adjusts for prices, but moving across a state line can also change your taxes, which changes what you actually keep. If you're moving from a high-income-tax state to one with no income tax (or vice versa), your take-home can shift by thousands on the same gross salary. Run the cost-of-living math on your estimated take-home pay, not just the gross, so the comparison reflects real spending money. Our guide on cost of living vs. take-home pay covers how taxes and prices stack together.

Three moving situations, three strategies

1. Negotiating a transfer or relocation offer. If your employer is moving you, use the adjustment as your anchor in the conversation. Come in with the destination's numbers: "to maintain my current standard of living in the new city, the equivalent salary is X." Framing it as parity, backed by cost data, is far stronger than asking for a raise.

2. Job-hunting in the new city. Research typical local pay for your role before you apply, so you know whether an offer is competitive for that market - not just versus your old salary. A number that looks low against your current pay might be strong locally, and vice versa.

3. Taking a remote job with you. Some employers adjust remote pay by location, so moving to a cheaper metro can mean a pay cut. Whether that leaves you ahead depends on the math above: a 10% pay cut when you move somewhere 25% cheaper still leaves you better off in real terms. Do the calculation before you assume a cut is bad.

What the cost index doesn't capture

The adjustment gets you most of the way, but layer on a few things it misses:

  • Housing specifically - check real rents or home prices for the neighborhood and size you'd actually need, since housing is the biggest driver of the difference.
  • Commute and transport - a car-dependent metro versus a walkable one changes your real costs.
  • One-time moving costs - and whether an employer covers them.
  • Lifestyle differences - what you'll realistically spend given the new city's options.

Check the numbers for your field

Before you commit to a figure, sanity-check what your occupation typically pays in the destination. Look up your role - say registered nurses or software developers - and compare the median across your current and future metros. Reading the raw local pay alongside the cost-adjusted target tells you both what's normal there and what you should be aiming for.

The takeaway

Moving cities isn't about keeping the same salary - it's about keeping the same buying power. Scale your current pay by the ratio of the two cities' cost-of-living indices, run it on take-home rather than gross, and adjust for housing and moving costs. Do that and you'll know the real number to negotiate for, apply for, or accept - and you'll avoid the classic trap of moving for a salary that looks fine on paper but doesn't go as far as the one you left.