Public-data city comparisons
Find the U.S. city that fits you
Compare cost of living, income, taxes, jobs, rent, climate, and disaster risk across 300+ U.S. metros — every number computed from public government data, and sourced.
Decide with the tools
Data reports →Should I move?
A take-home-pay and cost-of-living verdict on any move.
Rent vs. buy
True monthly cost and the break-even year, by metro.
Salary calculator
What your pay is really worth, city to city.
Compare metros
Two head-to-head — or stack four side by side.
Interactive map
Recolor every metro by the measure you care about.
City finder
Answer a few questions, get your best matches.
How CityLedger works
Most city sites lean on a proprietary index you can't inspect. We do the opposite — public data, transparent formulas, and a source behind every number.
Start from public data
Every figure comes straight from U.S. government sources — Census, BEA, BLS, EPA, NOAA, FEMA, and CDC — never scraped from another site or guessed.
See the real trade-offs
We translate raw numbers into comparable scores and plain-language insights, so a higher salary, a cheaper rent, or a milder climate can be weighed honestly against each other.
Decide with confidence
Compare metros side by side, adjust a salary for local prices, or run the 'Should I move?' wizard — then check the source behind any number on its page.
Browse metros
All 300→New York, NY
19.94M people
- Income
- $99,852
- Rent
- $1,851
- Livability
- 56
Los Angeles, CA
12.93M people
- Income
- $96,405
- Rent
- $2,114
- Livability
- 51
Chicago, IL
9.41M people
- Income
- $90,770
- Rent
- $1,469
- Livability
- 56
Dallas, TX
8.34M people
- Income
- $92,733
- Rent
- $1,718
- Livability
- 61
Houston, TX
7.8M people
- Income
- $81,417
- Rent
- $1,469
- Livability
- 46
Miami, FL
6.46M people
- Income
- $80,625
- Rent
- $2,083
- Livability
- 41
Washington, DC
6.44M people
- Income
- $126,244
- Rent
- $2,037
- Livability
- 81
Atlanta, GA
6.41M people
- Income
- $92,344
- Rent
- $1,770
- Livability
- 62
Philadelphia, PA
6.33M people
- Income
- $90,850
- Rent
- $1,567
- Livability
- 61
Phoenix, AZ
5.19M people
- Income
- $90,133
- Rent
- $1,819
- Livability
- 58
Boston, MA
5.03M people
- Income
- $117,825
- Rent
- $2,093
- Livability
- 83
Riverside, CA
4.74M people
- Income
- $91,013
- Rent
- $2,006
- Livability
- 38
Read up before you move
All guides →Data report
Where $100,000 is really worth the most — and least — in 2026
A $100K salary's real, price-adjusted value across every U.S. metro.
Basics
Cost of Living, Explained: What the Numbers Actually Mean
What a 'cost of living index' really measures — and how to use it when you're weighing a move or a job offer.
Money
Why a Bigger Salary Can Leave You Poorer
A raise in an expensive city can be a pay cut in disguise. Here's how to see through it.
Moving
How to Compare Two Cities Before You Move
A practical, no-nonsense framework for putting two places side by side — and the things the data can't tell you.
Frequently asked questions
- Where does CityLedger's data come from?
- Every figure is computed from public U.S. government sources — the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the EPA, NOAA, FEMA, and the CDC — and the source of each number is linked on the page. We never scrape competitors or estimate figures by hand.
- Is CityLedger free to use?
- Yes. Every city profile, comparison, ranking, data report, and tool is free to use, and no account is required.
- What area does each 'city' actually cover?
- Figures are medians for the whole metropolitan statistical area — the metro — rather than the city limits, so they reflect the broader job and housing market most people really live and commute within.
- How current is the data?
- Each metric carries the vintage of its government source, and we refresh on the agencies' own release calendars — the American Community Survey annually each fall, with BEA, BLS, EPA, FEMA, and CDC on their schedules. The data page lists every source and its latest vintage.
- How are the livability and affordability scores calculated?
- From transparent, published weights applied to the underlying public data — there is no proprietary black box. The full formula and every weight are documented on our methodology page.