Methodology
salary.city combines public government datasets with clearly labeled assumptions and projections. Here's what each result can and cannot claim.
Data Sources
| Dataset | Source | Update Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Occupation Wages | Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) | Annual (May release) |
| Certified LCA Wage Records | U.S. Department of Labor — OFLC LCA Disclosures | Quarterly disclosure snapshot |
| Cost of Living | Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (RPP) | 2024 metro RPP import |
| Housing (Rent) | U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD FMR) | Annual (FY2026 where imported) |
| Tax Rates | IRS.gov + State Revenue Departments | Federal/FICA profile: 2026; state layer remains simplified |
Local Dollar Value & Real Pay Index
SalaryCity separates the metro price level from the occupation's local wage performance. Both use a national benchmark of 100, but they answer different questions.
Local Dollar Value does not depend on occupation. Real Pay Index uses the same May 2025 SOC for the local and national observed medians. A missing wage or RPP input hides the metric instead of substituting a modeled value.
Observed vs. Modeled
The salary distribution and employment count are direct May 2025 OEWS observations. The default 2026 gross-pay scenario applies a labeled 2.5% one-year assumption to the observed median. It is displayed as a model and never replaces the observed source value.
Tax Calculation
We estimate after-tax income using:
- Federal income tax — 2026 marginal tax schedules with Single, Married Filing Jointly, and Head of Household profiles.
- FICA (Social Security & Medicare) — 2026 Social Security wage base and status-specific Additional Medicare thresholds.
- State income tax — simplified state-by-state computations with explicit fallback behavior where detailed rules are not modeled.
Housing Affordability
We calculate two key housing metrics:
HUD 1B Fair Market Rent
We use HUD 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent where imported. HUD FMR is a 40th percentile gross rent benchmark, not a median rent series.
Mtg Simulation
Homeownership is simulated using a 20% down payment, prevailing fixed rates, and a 30-year term on the metro's median home price.
Limitations
- BLS OEWS data is published annually and may lag current market conditions; inflation indexing is a projection, not an observed wage update.
- Missing, suppressed, non-positive-employment, incomplete-percentile, or unordered cells are unavailable and noindex; SalaryCity does not synthesize a replacement wage.
- Search roles mapped through a close proxy are disclosed. Broad proxy role pages are noindex and excluded from the sitemap.
- Certified LCA records are employer attestations, not verified offers or proof of a completed hire, and appear only after metro, SOC, and normalized-title matching.
- Tax models now support Single, Married Filing Jointly, and Head of Household federal profiles. Credits, itemized deductions, dependents, and local taxes can materially change net outcomes.
- BEA RPP and HUD FMR reflect metro-level or rent-area benchmarks, masking neighborhood-specific premiums.