Should I move just because the cost of living is cheaper?

Lower cost of living can be tempting, but consider the full picture: taxes, healthcare, retirement contributions, visa rules, and quality-of-life factors all matter. A 30% lower cost of living combined with a 40% pay cut is still a downgrade.

Where does the cost of living index come from?

The CLI is referenced against New York City (100). A city with a CLI of 50 is roughly half as expensive as NYC overall. Sources include Numbeo, Mercer and Expatistan, which aggregate consumer prices across categories.

Does this include housing costs?

Yes — housing is usually 30-40% of the index weight. For digital nomads who rent short-term or stay with family, your real picture may differ significantly from the index.

The calculator does not adjust for income tax differences. Use the result as a pre-tax comparison, then apply each country’s marginal tax rate to estimate true take-home pay.

How accurate are the live exchange rates?

We pull live interbank rates updated daily. The actual rate you transact at via bank, Wise or broker will typically be 0.5-3% worse depending on the provider and amount.

Fiat & FX

Cost of Living Arbitrage

Is your $80,000 Toronto salary worth more than $65,000 in Lisbon? Compare real purchasing power across cities using live exchange rates.

Current Location

Annual salary

Current city

Country

Cost of living index 72

NYC = 100. Find your city at numbeo.com

Target Location

Target city

Country / Currency

Cost of living index 45

Adjust the inputs — results update instantly.

Save results

Whether you are considering a job offer in a new city, planning a remote move, or just curious how your salary stacks up against the cost of living elsewhere, raw numbers can be misleading. A $100,000 salary in San Francisco does not go nearly as far as $70,000 in Austin or $50,000 in Lisbon — once you account for rent, taxes, and everyday costs.

This calculator uses live exchange rates and city-level cost-of-living indices to compute the equivalent salary you would need in any city to maintain the same standard of living. It also shows your percentage change in purchasing power and the monthly difference in disposable income, so you can compare offers honestly.

How it works

Enter your current annual salary and your current city, then pick a target city and currency. The calculator pulls a live exchange rate from our rate engine and applies a cost-of-living index relative to New York City (NYC = 100). The equivalent local salary is computed as: target_salary = current_salary × (target_cli / current_cli), then converted to the target currency using the live FX rate.

Cost-of-living indices are based on public data aggregating rent, groceries, transport, dining, and utilities. The index does not include income taxes — you should factor those in separately, since marginal tax rates vary dramatically between countries.