The Alignment Economy

What's Your Real Cost of Living?

Enter your zip code, wage, and real monthly costs. See your own NPUX breakdown — and help build the first crowd-sourced dataset of what things actually cost, region by region.

No sign-up, no identifying information collected. Only zip code, item, and price are recorded — never your name or contact info.

Zip Code

Hourly Wage ($)

Survival

The six categories in the book's Essential Economic Basket Value (EEBV).

Housing Type

Monthly Housing Payment ($)

HOA / Condo Fee ($, 0 if none)

Health Insurance Premium, Monthly ($)

Doctor Visit Copay ($)

Prescription Copay ($)

Loaf of Bread ($)

Potatoes, 1 lb ($)

Bananas, 1 lb ($)

Milk, 1 Gallon ($)

Eggs, 1 Dozen ($)

Electric Bill, Monthly ($)

Water Bill, Monthly ($)

Cell Phone + Internet, Monthly ($)

Commute Type

Monthly Commuting Cost ($)

Required Beyond Survival

Real costs the statutory baseline doesn't capture.

Car Payment, Monthly ($)

Auto Insurance Type

Auto Insurance, Monthly ($)

Fuel, Monthly ($)

Car Maintenance, Monthly Avg ($)

Childcare, Per Child, Monthly ($)

Student Loan Payment, Monthly ($)

Tuition/Fees, Per Semester ($)

Blue Jeans, One Pair ($)

Laundromat, One Load ($)

Toilet Paper ($)

Store Credit Card Payment, Monthly ($)

Store Credit Card — Mostly Used For

Living

Genuinely discretionary spending.

Movie Ticket ($)

Fast-Casual Meal ($)

Family Restaurant Meal, Party of 4 ($)

Live Event Ticket (concert/sports/park) ($)

Pet Food, Monthly ($)

General Credit Card Payment, Monthly ($)

Total Subscriptions, Monthly ($)

Other Discretionary Spending, Monthly ($)

Home Security Monitoring, Monthly ($)

House Cleaning, One Visit ($)

Lawn Care, One Visit ($)

Please fill in every field (enter 0 where something doesn't apply).

Based on a 1979 baseline, using EPI Productivity-Pay Tracker data. Survival costs measured against the EEBV baseline established in the book's Technical Appendix. This tool is provided for illustrative and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.