State Cost of Living Calculator
Put two states side by side. The tool shows the price level in each, what a salary is actually worth in both, and which of the four published components drives the gap.
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities, table SARPP, 2024 reference year, where the national all-items level is 100.0. BEA published the 2024 statistics on 19 February 2026 and revised 2008 to 2023 in the same release. Snapshot taken 2026-09-06.
Common comparisons
The headline
Prices in Texas run 12.3% lower than California. A $100,000 salary needs to become $87,715 to buy the same basket, a cut of $12,285.
State A
California
110.7
all-items price level
10.7 points above the national average. Ranks 50 of 50 from cheapest to dearest.
What $100,000 is worth here
$90,334
in national-average dollars, before any tax
State B
Texas
97.1
all-items price level
2.9 points below the national average. Ranks 27 of 50 from cheapest to dearest.
What $100,000 is worth here
$102,987
in national-average dollars, before any tax
Where the gap comes from
BEA publishes four component parities and no others. Each is stated against the same national all-items level, so the national column is not exactly 100.
All items
-13.6
Every good and service in the estimate
CA
110.7
TX
97.1
US
100.0
Goods
-8.0
Apparel, food at home, medical goods, transportation goods
CA
106.1
TX
98.1
US
99.6
Housing rents
-57.8
Tenant rents plus imputed rent for owner-occupied homes
CA
154.3
TX
96.5
US
100.6
Utilities
-71.4
Electricity, gas, water supply and sanitation
CA
158.9
TX
87.5
US
98.4
Other services
-5.5
Education, food services, medical services, recreation
CA
102.6
TX
97.1
US
100.1
| Component | CA | TX | US | Gap, B minus A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All items | 110.7 | 97.1 | 100.0 | -13.6 |
| GoodsApparel, food at home, medical goods, transportation goods | 106.1 | 98.1 | 99.6 | -8.0 |
| Housing rentsTenant rents plus imputed rent for owner-occupied homes | 154.3 | 96.5 | 100.6 | -57.8 |
| UtilitiesElectricity, gas, water supply and sanitation | 158.9 | 87.5 | 98.4 | -71.4 |
| Other servicesEducation, food services, medical services, recreation | 102.6 | 97.1 | 100.1 | -5.5 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities, table SARPP, 2024 reference year. BEA regional price parities. US federal government work, public domain. Credit BEA as source.
How it works
The arithmetic
Equivalent salary is your salary multiplied by the destination price level and divided by the origin price level. The worth of a salary in national-average dollars is the salary multiplied by 100 and divided by that state's price level, so the two states become directly comparable without picking one as the base.
The whole national spread runs from 86.9 in Arkansas to 110.7 in California, a range of 23.8 points. Cross-state swings are therefore smaller than headline cost-of-living indexes tend to imply.
Limitations
What it does not tell you
- Taxes are excluded. Price parities measure prices, not income, property or sales tax. Layer in the tax burden page for the rest of the picture.
- State averages hide city-level variation. New York City is far dearer than Buffalo, San Francisco far dearer than Fresno. BEA also publishes metro-level parities, which this tool does not carry.
- Only four components exist. There is no federal grocery, healthcare, childcare or transportation parity, so no such row appears here.
- It is not a moving decision. This is the price gap, not the whole trade. The moving guide covers the rest.