What is the cost of living index for United States?

Our static model uses 1.00× the United States baseline (1.0). Higher numbers mean higher relative living costs in this simplified country-level index—not city-level rent or tax data.

How much buying power do mid-level salaries have in United States?

Across all roles in our catalog, mid-level gross pay averages ~$98,790 in US-equivalent buying power after dividing by the CoL index. United States ranks #5 of 20 on this heuristic.

Is this official cost-of-living data for United States?

No. Figures are educational planning bands from our salary model—see /method/ for methodology. Use government statistics or relocation specialists for binding decisions.

Cost of living & salary equivalence

Cost of living in United States

United States's static cost-of-living index is 1.00× the US baseline (100% of US living costs in our model). Mid-level roles average ~$98,790 in US-equivalent buying power—rank #5 of 20 countries in our catalog. Compare mid-level gross pay, USD equivalents, and CoL-adjusted buying power across 50 roles—then open any job for junior and senior breakdowns.

Model revision Content revision: 2026-05 · Methodology

Figures use Toolminator's static salary model (ranges for comparison, not job listings). Methodology & limitations.

CoL index

1.00×

vs US baseline · #4 most expensive of 20

Avg buying power

$98,790

Mid-level roles · US-equivalent

Global rank

of 20 countries on buying power

Mid-level salaries & buying power

Buying power = gross USD ÷ CoL index. US equivalent is the gross USD salary in the United States with the same purchasing power (US index = 1.0).

Role	Gross (mid)	Gross USD	Buying power	US equivalent
Physician	$233,310	$233,310	$233,310	$233,310	View
Machine Learning Engineer	$172,811	$172,811	$172,811	$172,811	View
Cloud Architect	$172,710	$172,710	$172,710	$172,710	View
Dentist	$163,317	$163,317	$163,317	$163,317	View
Investment Banker	$153,773	$153,773	$153,773	$153,773	View
Product Manager	$149,985	$149,985	$149,985	$149,985	View
Data Scientist	$147,056	$147,056	$147,056	$147,056	View
DevOps Engineer	$142,208	$142,208	$142,208	$142,208	View
Lawyer	$136,350	$136,350	$136,350	$136,350	View
Full Stack Developer	$131,098	$131,098	$131,098	$131,098	View
Backend Developer	$130,896	$130,896	$130,896	$130,896	View
Cybersecurity Analyst	$130,088	$130,088	$130,088	$130,088	View
Pharmacist	$129,280	$129,280	$129,280	$129,280	View
Software Engineer	$127,500	$127,500	$127,500	$127,500	View
Mobile Developer	$123,119	$123,119	$123,119	$123,119	View
Frontend Developer	$116,655	$116,655	$116,655	$116,655	View
Project Manager	$108,171	$108,171	$108,171	$108,171	View
UX Designer	$107,141	$107,141	$107,141	$107,141	View
Electrical Engineer	$101,950	$101,950	$101,950	$101,950	View
Construction Manager	$99,788	$99,788	$99,788	$99,788	View
Account Executive	$95,950	$95,950	$95,950	$95,950	View
Financial Analyst	$94,779	$94,779	$94,779	$94,779	View
QA Engineer	$94,031	$94,031	$94,031	$94,031	View
Scrum Master	$94,031	$94,031	$94,031	$94,031	View
HR Manager	$94,031	$94,031	$94,031	$94,031	View
Data Analyst	$93,324	$93,324	$93,324	$93,324	View
Business Analyst	$92,920	$92,920	$92,920	$92,920	View
Mechanical Engineer	$92,920	$92,920	$92,920	$92,920	View
Physical Therapist	$92,435	$92,435	$92,435	$92,435	View
Registered Nurse	$91,102	$91,102	$91,102	$91,102	View
Civil Engineer	$90,658	$90,658	$90,658	$90,658	View
Nurse	$85,083	$85,083	$85,083	$85,083	View
Accountant	$78,780	$78,780	$78,780	$78,780	View
Digital Marketer	$71,266	$71,266	$71,266	$71,266	View
Recruiter	$70,539	$70,539	$70,539	$70,539	View
Electrician	$66,377	$66,377	$66,377	$66,377	View
SEO Specialist	$65,933	$65,933	$65,933	$65,933	View
Sales Representative	$65,246	$65,246	$65,246	$65,246	View
Plumber	$63,630	$63,630	$63,630	$63,630	View
Truck Driver	$59,752	$59,752	$59,752	$59,752	View
Graphic Designer	$57,611	$57,611	$57,611	$57,611	View
Paralegal	$56,237	$56,237	$56,237	$56,237	View
Teacher	$55,651	$55,651	$55,651	$55,651	View
Restaurant Manager	$54,480	$54,480	$54,480	$54,480	View
Elementary Teacher	$53,167	$53,167	$53,167	$53,167	View
Content Writer	$52,722	$52,722	$52,722	$52,722	View
Chef	$49,369	$49,369	$49,369	$49,369	View
Medical Assistant	$44,965	$44,965	$44,965	$44,965	View
Customer Support Specialist	$44,602	$44,602	$44,602	$44,602	View
Warehouse Worker	$40,723	$40,723	$40,723	$40,723	View

Higher buying power

Countries where mid-level roles score higher on our CoL-adjusted heuristic.

Lower buying power

Markets with lower average CoL-adjusted mid-level pay in our model.

North America peers

Salary hub — United States

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