Cost of Living Comparison
Enter two U.S. metropolitan areas to compare housing costs, wage levels, crime rates, school quality, and overall composite scores side by side. Figures reflect the June 2026 federal-data vintage.
For scale: across the 387 metros in our cost database, the cost-of-living index (RPP) ranges from 83.6 to 115.6, meaning the priciest US metro costs about 1.4x the cheapest. Pick two metros below to see exactly where they fall in that range.
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis and eight other federal agencies, this calculator draws on more than 387 U.S. metros as of the May 2026 data vintage; see our methodology for the full source list and refresh cadence.
Every figure on PlainRelocate is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.