We've written 3 guides on what a job offer is worth, from benefits to a move to a new city. Each one ties back to the Job Offer Comparison Calculator. The newest one, out September 18, 2026, is "How to Compare Two Job Offers: Pay, Benefits, Commute." Some of them also use the Pay Raise Calculator and Text Summarizer.
Salary is one line of an offer. Then there's health cover, a retirement match, time off, the commute, maybe a move to a city where rent is double. Each of these guides puts a number on one of those.
Before comparing anything, I copy every figure out of both offers. Then they go into the job offer comparison calculator, which adds benefits and commute and tells you which one is worth more over a year. Sometimes the lower salary wins.
How to compare job offers fairly: line up two or three, add the benefits and the commute, and see which one is really worth more.
Which is better, the $92,000 offer or the $86,000 one? Count the bonus, the 401(k) match, the health premium and the commute, and the $86,000 job comes out $4,754 a year ahead. That worked example is here, along with how our comparison tool runs the same numbers.
Base salary is one line of five. A 401(k) match, a bonus, an RSU grant, PTO and health premiums all have a yearly value, and you can work each one out. Add them up and a $95,000 base turns into $118,020 of real annual compensation.
Can a job that pays 21% more still leave you behind? Yes, in a new city. Convert the salary using the federal price index (California is 110.7 and Arkansas 86.9 in BEA's 2024 data), price a real apartment, and then add the tax on relocation money and the one-time moving bill.
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