Decision tool
Cost-of-living adjusted salary calculator
A $90,000 surgical tech salary in San Francisco doesn't mean what a $90,000 surgical tech salary in Houston means. This calculator converts between them using BEA Regional Price Parities (2023). Pick a profession, two states, and see real purchasing power.
How RPP works
The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes Regional Price Parities annually, indexed so the U.S. average equals 100. A state with an RPP of 113 is 13% more expensive than the national average; a state with an RPP of 87 is 13% cheaper. The conversion math: real_pay = nominal_pay × (origin_RPP / destination_RPP).
What this doesn't capture
RPP is a state-level average. Real cost differences within a state are often larger than between states — Manhattan vs. upstate New York, Bay Area vs. Sacramento, Austin vs. rural East Texas. If you're comparing specific cities, MIT's Living Wage Calculator and Numbeo offer city-level data. We use state-level RPP because that's what BLS salary data is structured around. Use the result as a coarse-grained reality check, not a precise budget.