Tools · Cost of Living

What life actually costs
where you live.

Enter your city and household. The tool pre-populates with local cost data and shows your full monthly budget, the income needed to cover it, your savings capacity, and how your city compares. Every number is editable. Your data stays in your browser.

USE TIME: 10 MIN · SAVES TO YOUR BROWSER

About the pre-populated numbers. City-level estimates draw on MIT Living Wage Calculator data, BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey regional data, and Zillow Research rent data. Every figure is editable. Adjust to match your actual costs. ×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: Pre-populated city cost estimates blend MIT Living Wage, BLS CES regional, and Zillow Research data.Verify at: MIT Living Wage Calculator ↗, BLS CES ↗, Zillow Research ↗Estimates are point-in-time. Always verify your specific situation with current pricing.

1 · YOUR SITUATION
2 · YOUR MONTHLY COSTS (all editable)
// HOUSING
Largest single cost for most. ×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: Rent estimates from Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) at metro level; utilities from EIA state averages.Verify at: Zillow Research ↗ and EIA state electricity ↗Zillow publishes monthly ZORI; EIA publishes state and regional electric/gas averages.
HOUSING TOTAL$0
// TRANSPORTATION
TRANSPORT TOTAL$0
// FOOD
×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: BLS CES food-at-home avg: single ~$400/mo, couple ~$650, family of 4 ~$950. Food-away-from-home adds ~40-50%.Verify at: BLS Consumer Expenditure tables ↗Figures vary by region. City adjustment factors applied above.
FOOD TOTAL$0
// HEALTHCARE
×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: Employee share of employer health insurance averages ~$115/mo single, ~$630/mo family (KFF 2024).Verify at: KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey ↗KFF publishes annually. Plans vary widely by employer and plan type (HMO, PPO, HDHP).
HEALTHCARE TOTAL$0
// DEBT PAYMENTS
DEBT TOTAL$0
// SUBSCRIPTIONS
SUBSCRIPTIONS TOTAL$0
// PERSONAL
PERSONAL TOTAL$0
// SAVINGS & INVESTMENTS

This is aspirational, not a fixed cost. How much you are currently saving or investing each month.

SAVINGS TOTAL$0
3 · THE VERDICT
TOTAL MONTHLY COSTS
$0
Annual: $0
Per day: $0
INCOME YOU NEED
···
MIT LIVING WAGE IN ···
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×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: MIT Living Wage = minimum hourly wage to meet basic needs in a given metro without public assistance.Verify at: livingwage.mit.edu ↗Updated periodically. Look up your specific county for precise figures.
WHAT YOU ACTUALLY EARN
···
SAVINGS RATE
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RECOMMENDED ALLOCATION CHECK

Against the fixed-floor-first method. Color-coded against target thresholds. See budgeting for the method.

YOUR NEXT BEST STEP
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OPPORTUNITY COST SNAPSHOT
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COMPARE TO ANOTHER CITY
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SAVE · EXPORT · SHARE

Your budget saves automatically to browser localStorage. Stays on your device.

What this tool assumes
  • Data from MIT Living Wage and recent BLS CEX estimates for a mid-2020s baseline.
  • Housing, food, and transportation numbers are city-level averages; your actual cost varies.
  • Healthcare cost excludes major medical events and out-of-network care.

Related

→ Cost of Living in 2026 vs 1971, the long-arc view → Budgeting, the fixed-floor method → Personal Finance Order of Operations → Paycheck Optimizer, what maxing 401(k)/HSA does to take-home → Tax Estimator, your actual tax bill → Opportunity Cost, what the surplus could become

Last updated 2026-04-22. Not financial advice. Cost estimates are pre-populated guides, not final numbers. Adjust to your actual situation.

HOW THIS IS CALCULATED

This tool runs entirely in your browser — no data is sent to any server. All formulas use standard financial math. Verify the methodology or inspect the source code in your browser's dev tools.