Country guide · United States
Moving to United States: cost of living, salaries, taxes, visas
Largest tech salaries globally; widest US-state cost variance; worldwide-income taxation that follows citizens for life.
The United States combines the world's largest pool of high-paying tech, finance, and professional-services roles with the highest healthcare-cost exposure in the developed world. Cost-of-living varies more between US cities than across most of Western Europe — NYC and San Francisco run roughly 3× the cost of mid-tier American metros.
For relocators, the tax angle is the catch: the US is one of only two countries globally that taxes citizens and permanent residents on worldwide income, regardless of where they live. Filing obligations follow you for life.
Data signals
What the numbers say about United States
The take-home math
Take-home pay in United States is shaped by a roughly 24% effective payroll deduction (income tax + social security), and no national VAT — any consumption tax is levied below national level, if at all.
The main hub
Its primary hub, New York, carries a cost index of 100 (New York = 100).
Cost spread within the country
Across the 7 United States cities we track, the cost index spans 52 (Austin) to 100 (New York).
Economy
Inflation and jobs in United States
Consumer prices rose 3.0% in 2024, averaging 4.2% a year across 2020–2024 — a mean pulled up by the 8.0% of 2022, so the 2024 rate is the better guide to today.
A missing year in a series means the source reported no observation, not zero. From the World Bank (World Development Indicators, updated 2026-07-13).
Average wage
Average salary in United States
The average annual wage in United States is about $82,933 (PPP-adjusted US$), per the OECD (2024). PPP-adjusted means it's comparable across countries on what the money actually buys — the OECD-wide average is ~$61,000. Source: OECD.
This is a country-wide figure. For what you actually need to earn in a specific city, see the salary-by-lifestyle breakdown on each city's cost-of-living page.
See take-home pay in United States after tax → or compare with another country.
At a glance
United States relocation profile
Vs the catalog average
Is New York cheap or expensive, relatively?
New York's cost and rent index against the mean across every city Mundevo covers.
Index base: New York = 100. Catalog average is the unweighted mean across all cities Mundevo tracks, recomputed on every build.
Mundevo coverage in United States
Cost-of-living detail pages for each United States city in the catalog.
| City | Cost index | Rent index | Safety | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 100 | 100 | 55 | 8,300,000 |
| San Francisco | 90 | 87 | 45 | 873,000 |
| Miami | 70 | 64 | 55 | 442,000 |
| Los Angeles | 68 | 60 | 48 | 3,800,000 |
| Seattle | 67 | 56 | 55 | 750,000 |
| Chicago | 61 | 55 | 45 | 2,700,000 |
| Austin | 52 | 44 | 60 | 1,000,000 |
Tax and visa landscape
Headline tax model + entry-point visa overview for relocators.
- Effective income tax: 16.6%
- Social security (employee): 7.6%
- Total payroll deduction: 24.3%
- VAT: none at national level
- Currency: USD
Effective rates assume a single salaried filer at country median wage. Special regimes (e.g. expat-favoring schemes) are not applied here — see the visa guide for those.
Visa categories, residency routes, and tax-regime context for relocators are detailed in the dedicated visa guide.
United States visa guide →Salary bands at New York — by role
Illustrative gross-salary bands for 6 senior IC roles in New York. Derived from NYC anchor × United States pay-tier multiplier. Cross-check Levels.fyi, Glassdoor before negotiating.
| Role | P25 | P50 | P75 | NYC anchor (P50) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software engineer | $145,000 | $180,000 | $230,000 | $180,000 |
| Product manager | $150,000 | $195,000 | $260,000 | $195,000 |
| UX / product designer | $110,000 | $145,000 | $195,000 | $145,000 |
| Marketing manager | $95,000 | $130,000 | $175,000 | $130,000 |
| Data scientist | $135,000 | $175,000 | $230,000 | $175,000 |
| Finance analyst | $110,000 | $155,000 | $220,000 | $155,000 |
Top relocation corridors
Closest peers by cost-of-living index — the moves most commonly considered alongside United States.