Same salary, different country: where do you rank?
The same paycheck ranks very differently depending on a country's wage distribution. salary.gg is the only calculator that scores one salary against Korea, Japan, and the United States at the same time, using each government's official wage data. The examples below are illustrative — enter your own salary to see your exact three-country ranking.
| Example salary (age 33) | Korea | Japan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₩90M earned in Korea | Top 8% | Top 7% | Top 31% |
| ¥8M earned in Japan | Top 8% | Top 12% | Top 35% |
Approximate, age 33, nominal exchange rates (not purchasing-power parity — cost of living differs). Read as a ranking signal, not a pay or living-standard equivalence.
Calculate your own three-country percentile →
Data sources: Statistics Korea (KOSIS Wage Earner Income, 2024), Japan MHLW (賃金構造基本統計調査, 2024), U.S. Census Bureau ACS 1-year PUMS (2024). Official government statistics only.
Frequently asked questions
- What does salary.gg compare across countries?
- Every result page shows the entered salary's percentile rank in all three covered countries (Korea, Japan, U.S.) simultaneously, computed from each country's official wage distribution. For example, ₩90M at age 33 ranks roughly Top 8% in Korea (KOSIS), Top 7% in Japan (MHLW), and Top 31% in the U.S. nationally (Census ACS PUMS). This cross-country view is the primary differentiator vs. single-country calculators like SmartAsset, PayScale, or Levels.fyi.
- Does the same percentile mean the same standard of living across countries?
- No. The site uses nominal exchange rates to convert salaries, not purchasing-power parity (PPP). A U.S. salary at the same percentile as a Korean salary may purchase different amounts of housing, healthcare, or food. PPP-based comparison is a planned follow-up. Use nominal percentile as a rough ranking signal, not a cost-of-living equivalence.
- Which countries are covered and which are planned?
- Currently covered: South Korea (KOSIS Wage Earner Income Data, 2024), Japan (MHLW 賃金構造基本統計調査, 2024), United States (Census Bureau ACS 1-year PUMS, 2024 — including 50 states + D.C., 22 occupation groups). Selection criteria require an open government wage distribution dataset with cohort-level granularity. Expansion candidates depend on equivalent official data availability.
- How is user input handled — is anything stored?
- Salary and birth year inputs are processed entirely in the user's browser. Results are encoded into the shareable URL (base64), not stored on a server. No account or login required. No personally identifiable information is collected beyond standard anonymous web analytics (Google Analytics 4).
- How recent are the wage statistics?
- Korea: 2024 KOSIS data, released 2026-02-23. Japan: 2024 MHLW data, released annually. U.S.: 2024 Census ACS 1-year PUMS, released 2025-10-16. All three are the most recent official datasets as of 2026. Tax rates and social insurance rates reflect 2026 applicable values (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, SSA 2026 wage base, Korean NTS 간이세액표 2026, Japanese NTA 月額表 2026).