Editorial Team

Every calculator and guide on Salary vs Life is written and checked by the Salary vs Life Team. This page explains who we are and the rules we follow.

Who we are

We are a small, independent team that builds personal finance tools. Our focus is narrow on purpose: salaries, taxes and the cost of living in US cities. We are not part of a bank, a recruiter, a relocation company or a financial advice firm.

We are not licensed financial advisers or accountants, and we do not present ourselves as experts in your personal situation. What we do is take public rules and public data, explain them in plain English, and turn them into tools you can check yourself.

What we write about

• Take-home pay after federal, state and local taxes
• Cost of living differences between US cities and states
• Comparing job offers, remote work pay and relocation
• Family budgets, childcare and retirement costs by place
• Salary negotiation using real cost data

Our editorial standards

1. Official sources first. We use primary sources where they exist: the IRS for federal tax, the Social Security Administration for payroll tax and benefits, state revenue departments for state tax, the Bureau of Labor Statistics for wages and spending, the Bureau of Economic Analysis for regional prices, and HUD for rents. Every guide lists its sources and links to them.

2. Numbers you can check. When a guide gives a figure, it either cites the source or comes from our calculators, whose method is published on our methodology page. We do not invent statistics, quotes or case studies.

3. Clear about estimates. We label estimates as estimates, and we say what our tools leave out.

4. Plain English. Short sentences, simple words, and a direct answer near the top of each guide.

5. Dated and updated. Each guide shows when it was published and last updated. We review tax content when new rates are released each year, and cost data when new government figures come out.

6. Independent of advertisers. The site earns money from display ads. Advertisers do not pay for rankings, reviews or results, and they do not see our content before it is published.

How a guide is made

1. We pick a question real people ask, such as “Is $75,000 a good salary in Austin?”
2. We gather the latest official data and run the numbers through our calculators.
3. We write the guide with the answer first, then the detail, tables and sources.
4. We check every number against its source before publishing.
5. We update the guide when the data changes.

Corrections policy

If we get something wrong, we fix it. Email info@salaryvslifecalc.com with the page and what you found. Confirmed errors are corrected promptly, and important changes are reflected in the page’s “last updated” date.

Read more about Salary vs Life, or browse our guides.