What does your salary actually buy where you live?

The median is always more useful for benchmarking. The mean household income ($105,000) is pulled upward by the small proportion of very high earners. The median ($74,580) is the midpoint: half earn more, half earn less. The $30,000+ gap between mean and median reflects income concentration at the top. Always use the median when comparing yourself to typical households.

A $80,000 income supports a very different lifestyle for one person versus a family of five. Pew's methodology applies an equivalence scale: a single person needs only 58% of the three-person threshold; a family of five needs 129%. So the same dollar income places you in very different class tiers depending on how many people it must support.

Maryland leads with approximately $94,991, followed by Massachusetts ($93,550) and New Jersey ($92,340). These states benefit from high concentrations of federal employment, finance, and tech sectors, and their proximity to major metro areas. However, high median incomes are partly offset by high costs of living. Cost-adjusted, the gap between states narrows considerably.

The San Francisco metro area has a BEA Regional Price Parity of approximately 122-123, making it one of the most expensive places in the country. The median household income in the San Francisco-Oakland metro is around $127,000. To reach middle class by Pew standards for a household of three, you need at least approximately $72,000. A commonly cited guideline suggests spending no more than 30% of gross income on housing, which would require a household income of at least $120,000 to afford median rent without being "cost-burdened." For a family with children, $150,000-$180,000 is often cited as the comfort threshold.

Texas has a state-level RPP of approximately 97 (3% below national average), while California sits at approximately 113 (13% above). This means a $100,000 salary in Texas has roughly the purchasing power of $116,000-$118,000 in California. The difference is even larger when comparing specific metros: Dallas (RPP approximately 99) vs San Francisco (RPP approximately 123) means $75,000 in Dallas equates to approximately $93,000-$95,000 in San Francisco purchasing power. Texas also has no state income tax, while California's top marginal rate reaches 13.3%. For a household earning $100,000, the combined state income tax and cost-of-living difference can amount to $15,000-$25,000 in effective annual purchasing power.

A household income of $80,000 supports a very different lifestyle for a single person versus a family of five. The Pew Research methodology accounts for this by applying an equivalence scale: a single person needs less income to achieve the same standard of living as a larger household. The adjustment is based on the square root of household size. A single person needs only 58% of the three-person threshold; a household of five needs 129%. So while a single person earning $80,000 in a median-cost metro is solidly upper-middle class, a family of five with the same total household income is squarely in the middle class. This calculator applies Pew's household size adjustments to your specific situation.

Enter your current household income, household size, and current location first, then note your percentile and economic class tier. Next use the "compare-to" field to select the city where the job offer is located. The calculator will show you what income you would need in the new city to maintain the same standard of living. If the job offer exceeds that threshold, the move represents a real increase in purchasing power. If it falls below, you are taking an effective pay cut despite a higher nominal salary. This comparison uses BEA Regional Price Parities and is a solid first approximation, though it does not capture neighbourhood-level variation, commute costs, or state tax differences.

No, and the distinction matters. The median is the midpoint value (half above, half below), while the mean (average) is the arithmetic average of all incomes. Because income distributions are heavily right-skewed, the mean household income is always higher than the median. The US mean household income is approximately $105,000-$110,000, compared to a median of about $74,580. The gap of roughly $30,000-$35,000 is driven entirely by income concentration at the top. For benchmarking purposes, the median is always more appropriate because it better represents the typical household.