By Which vintage is live
Our price-adjusted salary surfaces read the BEA state Regional Price Parities file for reference year 2024, released February 19, 2026 and retrieved September 2, 2026. RPPs are an index in which the United States equals 100, so a state above 100 has a higher overall price level than the national average.
The file is downloaded, checksummed and validated before it reaches production, and the vintage is displayed with the figures it produces.
What it means for your paycheck
Two states can pay the same salary and leave very different amounts in your pocket, for two independent reasons: the tax the state takes and the prices you then face. Mixing them into one number hides which is which.
The figure on this card is only the first of those two. It is the estimated difference in take-home between the two states for the same salary, produced by our tax engine. It contains no price adjustment at all — the price side lives in the Real Pay Atlas, which labels its own vintage.
How PaycheckForge uses it
Use the State Income Tax Comparison for the tax side of a move and the Real Pay Atlas for the price side. When BEA publishes a newer reference year, we revalidate the file and update the vintage and methodology together.
Source and scope
Primary source: BEA Regional Price Parities. Source checked September 2, 2026. RPPs describe general price levels for a reference year, not a household budget; take-home figures are estimates and exclude local income taxes. This is not financial advice.
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