Method

Every number on City Cost Ledger comes from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis's Regional Price Parities (RPPs), 2024 edition, the latest published.

What an RPP is

An RPP compares the price level of a place with the national average (100) in the same year. A metro with an RPP of 110 is 10% more expensive than average. BEA publishes an all-items RPP and components for goods, housing (rents), utilities and other services.

The salary calculation

Equivalent salary = your salary × (RPP of the new metro ÷ RPP of your current metro). It answers "what buys the same basket of goods and services?" It does not include taxes, and individual spending patterns differ.

Limits

• RPPs are annual and published with a lag.
• Metro averages hide big differences between neighborhoods.
• RPPs aren't an inflation measure; they compare places, not years.