Cost of living
comparison calculator

Cost of living is a term used to describe the amount of money needed to cover everyday essentials such as food, housing, transportation, and healthcare. Some of the items included in a cost-of-living calculator are basic needs, while other items go beyond the bare minimum to give you a more accurate picture of daily living.

Blueground’s cost-of-living calculator includes pricing information on housing, transportation, healthcare, and other life expenses like groceries, utilities, toiletries, and entertainment.

Blueground’s cost-of-living calculator uses data from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). They publish a Cost of Living Index, which uses a specific methodology, data collection, and quality control measures to compare costs between US urban areas. It’s regarded for its reliability and accuracy.

C2ER’s data looks at, “the cost of maintaining a standard of living appropriate for moderately affluent professional and managerial households,” rather than the average standard of living.

A cost-of-living calculator is helpful for determining how certain expenses compare in one city versus another. This can be invaluable when you are considering a move to a new city and need to determine how far your salary will take you in your new location.

If you find the city you are moving to is significantly more expensive than the city you are moving from, you may allocate your budget differently. It’s important to consider not just the overall cost of living difference, but how that breaks down within certain categories. For instance, you may find that housing is pricier in your new city, but grocery costs and entertainment are relatively the same.

Your personal priorities will determine how you budget your spending in your new city based on that information.

The data provided by a cost-of-living calculator is directional and should be used to help your decision-making processes, but it’s not exact. Actual prices will vary.

The cost of relocating to a new city will vary widely based on where you are moving from, where you are moving to, if you are moving alone or with a partner, family, or pets, whether you are a homeowner or renter, how much stuff you’ll be moving with you, whether your company is providing relocation assistance, and more.

Long-distance moves will be more expensive, as they will require airfare or travel fees. Don’t forget to factor in hidden moving costs like packing supplies, storage facilities, and any potential tax implications.

Due to inflation, the cost of living rises each year. Inflation rates are constantly shifting, but there are a few ways to monitor and measure how inflation may impact your cost of living. The Social Security Administration publishes Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA) each year. For 2025, the COLA was 2.5%.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics also publishes the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is released monthly and looks at the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a “basket” of goods and services.