Take-home pay
Compares estimated annual pay after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and modeled state wage income tax.
50 states + DC · Federal, FICA, state tax + BEA price levels
Compare Job Offers Across States
Compare salary, estimated take-home pay, regional purchasing power, your monthly budget, and the salary you would need to break even in another state.
Use the same status for both offers. Married filing jointly treats the salary entered here as the wage income included in this estimate; other household income is not added automatically.
Compare by
Offer A
$70,000.00
Gross salary
Offer B
$80,000.00
Gross salary
Select a state for both offers to compare tax, purchasing power, and break-even salary.
Estimates are for informational and planning purposes only. They do not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. See our disclaimer.
Three different questions
What each comparison view means
Purchasing power
Divides take-home pay by the state's 2024 BEA all-items price level. It is an official state-average benchmark, not a personal budget.
My monthly budget
Subtracts only the recurring monthly costs you enter. It does not apply RPP again, so regional costs are not counted twice.
Why this calculator does not blend RPP with your budget
An all-items RPP already reflects broad regional price differences. Applying it to all take-home pay and then subtracting detailed housing, commuting, or childcare costs would count some costs twice. The two views stay separate so every result has a clear meaning.
Worked example
A higher salary can produce a different purchasing-power result
This single-filer example uses the same tax engine and BEA data as the calculator. It is illustrative—not a claim about a particular city, household, or employer.
| Measure | California offer | Texas offer |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $130,000.00 | $120,000.00 |
| Estimated take-home | $92,003.86 | $93,250.00 |
| BEA 2024 state RPP | 110.7 | 97.1 |
| US-average purchasing-power equivalent | $83,095.97 | $96,077.56 |
Data and limits
Official benchmark, not a live cost quote
Regional Price Parities compare price levels across states and metro areas for one year. They are different from CPI, which measures price change over time. This calculator uses the latest available state data: BEA 2024RPP, released 2026-02-19. The next BEA release is scheduled for 2026-12-10.
State averages can hide large differences between neighborhoods and cities. All-items RPP housing expenditure weights include tenant rent and imputed rent for owner-occupied homes, while BEA estimates housing price levels from tenant-occupied housing. The result is not a home-price estimate.
View the BEA Regional Price Parities methodology and release.
What the estimate does not include
- •City, county, or other local income tax
- •Work-state and residence-state allocation
- •Tax credits, dependents, or itemized deductions
- •401(k), HSA, insurance, or payroll deductions
- •Bonus, equity, PTO, or employer match
- •Moving costs or a relocation package
Frequently asked questions
How should I compare job offers in different states?
Start with annual salary, then compare estimated federal, FICA, and state income tax. Use the regional purchasing-power view as a state-average benchmark, and the personal-budget view for costs you actually expect. Benefits, local taxes, moving costs, and equity still need a separate comparison.
What is regional purchasing power in this calculator?
It is estimated annual take-home pay divided by the state's 2024 BEA all-items Regional Price Parity, with the United States equal to 100. It is a national-average price-level equivalent, not cash, a live quote, or a personalized cost-of-living budget.
What does destination break-even salary mean?
It is the estimated gross salary Offer B would need to match Offer A in the selected view. Switching views changes the target: take-home pay matches taxes, purchasing power also applies the BEA state price level, and monthly budget uses only the recurring costs you entered.
Does the comparison include city or local income tax?
No. The tax estimate includes modeled 2026 federal income tax, FICA, and state wage income tax. It excludes city and county tax, credits, itemized deductions, benefits, payroll deductions, and complex work-state or residence-state rules.
Does a higher purchasing-power result mean the offer is better?
Not necessarily. Regional Price Parities are state averages and cannot value your commute, housing choice, family needs, health plan, PTO, bonus, equity, career growth, or risk. Treat the result as one decision benchmark, not a recommendation.