Frequently asked questions

It's the total yearly cost of living somewhere once you add up housing, property tax, the cars you need, and the value of your commute time. Most calculators only show rent or mortgage. We show the whole picture, because a cheaper-looking home can cost more once transportation and commuting are included.

From the address's Transit Score (provided by Walk Score). A Transit Score of 70 or above usually means car-free living is practical, so we count 0 cars. A score of 40 to 70 suggests one car per household is enough, and anything below 40 is treated as car-dependent (two cars). You can override this for either address if your situation is different.

That figure comes from AAA's annual “Your Driving Costs” study, which averages fuel, maintenance, tires, insurance, registration/taxes, depreciation, and finance costs across vehicle types. It's a national average: your real cost will vary by vehicle and driving habits, which is why we let you override the car count.

We get driving and transit times between your home and workplace from Google Directions, use the faster mode for each address, then value the round trip at your hourly rate across 250 working days: (minutes ÷ 60) × hourly rate × 2 × 250. At the default $25/hr, a one-hour one-way commute is worth $12,500/year.

From the API Ninjas property tax database, which gives an effective rate by city and state. We apply that rate to your annual housing cost. If we can't find a rate, we fall back to a 1.5% national average.

No. TrueAddressCost gives estimates for comparison purposes only. Actual costs depend on your specific situation. See our full disclaimer for details, and consult qualified professionals before making housing or financial decisions.

No. Addresses are sent to our server only to fetch Walk Score, commute, and property tax data, and are not stored after your results are generated. See our privacy policy for more.

Yes. After you run a comparison, use the “Copy Shareable Link” button: the addresses, housing costs, and workplace are saved in the URL, so anyone who opens it sees the same comparison.

Chicago is our first detailed guide, with scores and transit data for every neighborhood and major suburb. We're expanding to more cities over time. The calculator itself works for any U.S. address.