About

About Real Wage

Real Wage is a free calculator that shows what a job pays for each hour of your life, after tax, commuting, job costs and the hours nobody pays you for.

Why it exists

Job offers get compared by salary, but a salary leaves out most of what makes two jobs different: where they are, how you get there, how many days you have to go in, and how often the work spills into your evenings. Two offers with the same salary can differ by several dollars an hour once those are counted. Real Wage puts that difference into one number, so you can compare offers, negotiate, or decide whether a commute is worth it.

Who makes it

Real Wage is made and run by Zohair Razvi. You can reach us at zohairrazvi62@gmail.com or through the contact page.

Where the figures come from

Every city figure comes from a published source: government statistics agencies, transit agencies, fuel price trackers and commuting studies. Each one is linked on its city page and in the calculator, along with the date it was collected. The methodology explains how they’re combined and what the calculation leaves out.

Independence

Real Wage isn’t affiliated with any employer, transit agency, government or data provider whose figures it uses. Nobody pays to appear in it or to change its results.

How it’s funded

The calculator is free to use, with no account or sign-up. To cover its costs, the site may show advertising from Google. Ads are kept separate from the calculator and never affect its results. The privacy policy explains how advertising uses cookies and how to control it.

Not financial advice

The calculator gives estimates to help you think through a decision. It isn’t financial, tax or legal advice. For decisions with real consequences, check the numbers that matter with a qualified professional.