About Income Reality Check

Income Reality Check exists to answer a simple question that most salary tools skip: what does an income actually buy, once taxes, housing, and the real cost of living are accounted for? A number on a job offer rarely tells the whole story. The same salary can feel spacious in one city and tight in another.

This is an educational tool, not financial advice. It translates public data into qualitative signals — breathing room, housing pressure, savings pace — that help you see the shape of a financial picture across 37 major U.S. cities. It does not make predictions or tell you what to do.

Everything here is built on transparent, citable sources, refreshed quarterly. You can read more about how the signals are calculated on the methodology page.