About Status Quote
A bigger salary in a pricier city can leave you worse off. Status Quote shows whether a job offer is really a raise once local prices, rent and taxes are counted.
Who it's for
Anyone weighing a move for work, with extra help for federal employees and cleared professionals: General Schedule grades and steps with locality pay are built in, and the job picker has one-tap suggestions for common federal and defense work.
What it does
- Compares an offer with your current pay after cost of living, rent and estimated taxes, and gives a plain verdict.
- Covers 387 U.S. metro areas, with comparison and city pages for the largest 180.
- Maps where people in your line of work live and which metros have the most of those jobs.
Where the numbers come from
Only free public data published by U.S. government agencies and the Tax Foundation: price levels from the Bureau of Economic Analysis2, rents from HUD3, wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics4, federal pay from OPM5, tax rules from the IRS14 and the Tax Foundation8, and population, maps and neighbourhood data from the Census Bureau1. Every figure is labelled with its source and year, and the edition line at the top of each page shows which years are in use. The formulas are spelled out on the Methodology page.
Privacy
No accounts, no ads, no analytics and no trackers. The calculations run in your browser, so the salary and cities you enter are never sent anywhere. Maps and fonts are served by Status Quote itself, not by outside services. Like any website, the hosting provider may keep basic server logs.
Independence
Status Quote is an independent project. It isn't affiliated with or endorsed by OPM, any other government agency, or any employer, and it doesn't take payment to feature any city or job.
Limits
These are estimates to help you compare, not tax, legal or financial advice. Taxes are simplified (single filer, standard deduction), local income taxes aren't included, and price levels describe an average household, so your own costs may differ. Benefits, bonuses, commuting and childcare aren't counted. Check the numbers that matter to you before making a decision.