Is a higher salary worth a longer commute?
A bigger number on an offer letter does not always mean more money in your pocket. If the new job adds an hour of driving each day, the extra fuel, parking and tolls can swallow a large part of the raise — and the extra hours on the road are unpaid.
This calculator puts both jobs side by side. For each one it works out the yearly commute cost, the hours you spend travelling, and your effective hourly pay after both. The job with the higher effective hourly pay is the one that pays you better for your time.
How to compare two job offers
Fill in Job A with your current job or first offer, then Job B with the other offer. For each job enter:
- The salary or hourly wage and your normal working days.
- How long the one-way trip takes and how you travel.
- What a one-way trip costs, plus any parking or tolls.
- How many days a week you would actually go in, if the job is hybrid.
Use the result when negotiating
If the better-paid job loses once the commute is counted, the break-even raise tells you how much more it would need to pay to be worth the trip. That gives you a clear, fair number to bring to a salary conversation or a request for more remote days.