Cost of Living Assumptions

It is important to note that the original Two City Comparison table in the Geographic Assessor only reports summary cost-of-living differentials based on the rental housing market and benchmark assumptions for each earnings level; the updated Two City Comparison table in the enhanced Geographic Assessor includes cost-of-living data for both rental and home ownership scenarios (contact info.eri@erieri.com to subscribe to the enhanced Geographic Assessor). The Relocation Assessor was specifically designed to build relocation packages and reports rental and ownership differentials, along with itemized break-outs of the expenditure categories that can be modified by the user. While you should use the Geographic Assessor to set wage and salary levels based on geographic differentials, the Relocation Assessor is better suited to determine COLAs.

You may wish to consult the Relocation Assessor for cost-of-living data that is more relevant for permanent relocations involving home ownership.