Lowest COL
88
San Antonio · rank #1
Relocation calculator
✈️2026 · $100k single · 38 cities
Relocation city compare
Ranked cost of living across 38 US hub cities, a form to compare moving from one city to another, and static corridors like San Francisco → Austin. Matching a $100,000 San Francisco lifestyle in Austin takes about $58,182 gross (-41.8% COL). Lowest COL: San Antonio (88). Highest: San Jose (178).
By Sammy S. · Founder · AuthorUpdated for 2026
88
Lowest COL · San Antonio
178
Highest COL · San Jose
$58,182
SF → Austin equivalent
$79,180
Austin take-home
Highest COL
178
San Jose · rank #38
SF → Austin equivalent
$58,182
-41.8% COL
Austin take-home
$79,180
On $100,000 gross
Key finding: San Francisco → Austin at $100k
On a $100,000 single-filer salary (2026), matching a San Francisco lifestyle in Austin takes about $58,182 gross (-41.8% COL). Among 38 hub cities, San Antonio has the lowest COL index (88); San Jose the highest (178).
Key takeaways for city moves
- San Francisco → Austin: about $58,182 gross in Austin matches a $100,000 San Francisco lifestyle.
- Vignette: $100,000 gross · single filer · 2026. Rankings use each city’s COL index plus modeled take-home.
- San Antonio ranks #1 on COL (88); San Jose ranks last (178).
- This hub answers city-to-city moves (COL + tax). Statewide take-home without city COL lives on $100k by state and US state tax compare.
- At the same $100,000 gross, take-home is about $79,180 in Austin vs $72,794 in San Francisco.
- New York vs Miami COL indexes 150 vs 121; at the same $100,000 gross, take-home is about $70,848 vs $79,180.
Relocation salary by city (2026)
One fixed income—$100,000 gross, single filer—ranked across 38 US hub cities by cost-of-living index, with modeled take-home and the gross needed to match a national-average (COL 100) lifestyle. Pick two cities to open a full move page: equivalent salary, same-gross take-home, and housing when we have rent data.
How we compare a city-to-city move
Step 1
Pick origin and destination
Use the hub-city pair form or a featured corridor (San Francisco → Austin, New York → Miami). Pair URLs look like /relocation-salary-calculator/compare/san-francisco-to-austin.
Step 2
Read equivalent salary
That is the gross needed in the new city to match the origin lifestyle using COL indexes, then after-tax take-home.
Step 3
Check same-gross take-home
If you keep the same salary, take-home still changes with state rules, modeled New York City tax, and payroll.
Step 4
Separate COL from tax
A cheaper COL city is not always the higher take-home city. Both numbers are on each pair page.
Step 5
Open the calculator
Re-run filing status, salary, and rent on the relocation salary calculator before you treat a corridor as a job offer.
Worked example
San Francisco (COL 165) → Austin (COL 96) on $100,000 single: equivalent gross in Austin is about $58,182 (-41.8%). Same-gross take-home changes by +$6,386 per year.
2026 COL highlights
Lowest cost of living
- #1San AntonioCOL 88
- #2CharlotteCOL 92
- #3HuntsvilleCOL 92
- #4MinneapolisCOL 92
- #5NashvilleCOL 92
Highest cost of living
- #38San JoseCOL 178
- #37San FranciscoCOL 165
- #36Los AngelesCOL 151
- #35New YorkCOL 150
- #34San DiegoCOL 146
Compare moving from one city to another
Pick a current city and a destination. The pair page uses the same engine as the ranking: COL-equivalent salary plus take-home on $100,000 single.
Compare two US hub cities
COL + take-home at $100,000 single, from the same engine as the ranking below. The form lists hub cities; other calculator cities still work via the pair URL.
Popular city-to-city moves
Static comparisons for high-search corridors. Each card opens the full city pair page.
San Francisco → Austin
At $100,000 in San Francisco, matching that lifestyle in Austin takes about $58,182 gross (-41.8% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by +$6,386/year.
New York → Miami
At $100,000 in New York, matching that lifestyle in Miami takes about $80,667 gross (-19.3% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by +$8,332/year.
San Francisco → Seattle
At $100,000 in San Francisco, matching that lifestyle in Seattle takes about $86,061 gross (-13.9% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by +$5,771/year.
Los Angeles → Phoenix
At $100,000 in Los Angeles, matching that lifestyle in Phoenix takes about $70,861 gross (-29.1% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by +$3,886/year.
Chicago → Dallas
At $100,000 in Chicago, matching that lifestyle in Dallas takes about $84,615 gross (-15.4% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by +$4,950/year.
Boston → Denver
At $100,000 in Boston, matching that lifestyle in Denver takes about $75,862 gross (-24.1% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by +$1,480/year.
New York → Austin
At $100,000 in New York, matching that lifestyle in Austin takes about $64,000 gross (-36.0% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by +$8,332/year.
Washington → Atlanta
At $100,000 in Washington, matching that lifestyle in Atlanta takes about $71,111 gross (-28.9% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by +$1,570/year.
San Francisco → Houston
At $100,000 in San Francisco, matching that lifestyle in Houston takes about $56,970 gross (-43.0% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by +$6,386/year.
Los Angeles → Denver
At $100,000 in Los Angeles, matching that lifestyle in Denver takes about $72,848 gross (-27.1% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by +$1,986/year.
Seattle → Denver
At $100,000 in Seattle, matching that lifestyle in Denver takes about $77,465 gross (-22.5% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by −$3,785/year.
Philadelphia → Houston
At $100,000 in Philadelphia, matching that lifestyle in Houston takes about $88,679 gross (-11.3% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by +$3,070/year.
Statewide move corridors
When you want California → Texas without picking cities yet. City COL still belongs on the pair pages above.
Canada city moves
Same COL + tax model in CAD. Featured corridors, then the Canada hub cities in the form.
Toronto → Calgary
At $100,000 CAD in Toronto, matching that lifestyle in Calgary takes about $77,966 CAD gross (-22.0% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by +$173 CAD/year.
Full compare →Vancouver → Edmonton
At $100,000 CAD in Vancouver, matching that lifestyle in Edmonton takes about $70,400 CAD gross (-29.6% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by −$1,052 CAD/year.
Full compare →Montreal → Ottawa
At $100,000 CAD in Montreal, matching that lifestyle in Ottawa takes about $107,368 CAD gross (+7.4% COL). Same-gross take-home changes by +$4,578 CAD/year.
Full compare →Compare two Canada hub cities
Canada COL indexes and provincial tax on a $100,000 CAD single-filer vignette.
Who these city comparisons help
City-to-city job moves
You have an offer in another metro and need equivalent salary plus take-home, not only a state tax table.
Remote pay negotiations
You are asking what a San Francisco or New York lifestyle costs in Austin, Miami, Denver, or Dallas.
Dual-city households
One person keeps a high-COL salary while the household considers a lower-COL destination.
Statewide vs city
You already compared California vs Texas and now need city COL on top of the state paycheck.
vs metro paychecks, $100k by state & the calculator
| Topic | This page | Related hub |
|---|---|---|
| Unit | City COL + city-to-city moves | $100k by state: statewide paycheck, no city COL |
| Take-home ranking | Shown beside COL; ranking is by COL index | Metro paycheck examples: ranked by take-home |
| Custom salary | Fixed $100k vignette on the hub | Relocation calculator: your gross and filing status |
Full city ranking by COL
38 hub cities · lowest COL first. Cheapest: San Antonio (88). Costliest: San Jose (178). Take-home is $100,000 single. “Vs national” is the gross needed here to match a COL 100 lifestyle.
Planning tips before you move
Don’t treat COL as rent only
Indexes mix housing, groceries, and other categories. Pair pages add rent estimates when housing data exists.
Re-run your filing status
This hub is single filer. Married filing jointly and dependents change federal and some state bills.
NYC city tax is modeled; most other city wage taxes are not
New York on this hub uses New York State plus NYC city income tax. Philadelphia Wage Tax, Detroit city income tax, and Ohio municipal taxes are not in take-home. Maryland uses a statewide average local add-on, not a Baltimore-only rate.
Salary is not the whole move
Use the moving-budget tool for overlap rent and deposits; this hub is COL + paycheck math.
Methodology & limits
- Included: city COL indexes, federal + state income tax, NYC city income tax for New York, and employee payroll on wage income (FICA and any modeled state disability / family-leave premiums).
- Excluded: sales tax, property tax, Philadelphia Wage Tax, Detroit city income tax, Ohio municipal taxes, employer payroll taxes, and credits beyond calculator defaults.
- Assumptions: single filer, $100,000 wages, 2026 engines on this site. COL 100 = national average.
- Ranking: lowest COL index first among hub cities (not every suburb in the calculator). Pair pages still resolve for other same-country cities.
Glossary
- COL index
- Cost-of-living index with 100 as the national average. Higher means a more expensive city in this model.
- Equivalent salary
- Gross needed in the destination so purchasing power matches the origin salary after COL scaling.
- Same-gross take-home
- After-tax pay if you keep the same salary in the new city — tax rules change even when COL is ignored. New York includes NYC city income tax; most other city wage taxes are not modeled.
- Real take-home
- Modeled take-home divided by (COL index ÷ 100). A COL-adjusted view of what $100k feels like.
Relocation city compare FAQs
9 answers about equivalent salary, the pair form, and how this differs from statewide $100k rankings.
Each pair scales $100,000 by the two COL indexes, then runs the same single-filer tax engine used on the relocation calculator. The pair page shows equivalent salary, same-gross take-home, and housing when available.
The pair form lists the hub cities on this ranking. Other same-country calculator cities still resolve at /relocation-salary-calculator/compare/{from}-to-{to}.
The state hub ranks statewide paychecks with no city COL. This hub ranks cities and opens city-to-city moves (San Francisco → Austin, New York → Miami).
Metro paycheck ranks take-home on a fixed $100k salary. This hub adds COL-equivalent salary for a move, which is the figure people use when an offer is in another city. New York take-home on both pages uses NYC city income tax.
San Francisco → Houston has the largest featured COL change: about $56,970 in Houston to match $100,000 in San Francisco (-43.0% COL).
Yes. New York on this ranking and on New York pair pages uses New York State plus NYC city income tax. At $100,000 single, modeled take-home is about $70,848. Philadelphia, Detroit, and Ohio city wage taxes are still unmodeled.
San Antonio has the lowest COL index (88); San Jose has the highest (178) among the 38 cities on this ranking.
Yes — Toronto → Calgary and other Canada corridors are listed below the US ranking. Amounts there are CAD. The US pair form is US hub cities only; Canada has its own picker.
No. Figures are an annualized single-filer model for comparison. Confirm withholding, local tax, and a written offer with a tax professional before you move.