The useful city question is not "which office pays the most." For MBB in the United States, the campus base is often the same dollar figure in New York and Chicago. The useful question is: what is actually different once you hold the letter — tax, rent, bonus practice, title, and the exit market outside the building.
This page lines up eight hubs candidates actually compare: New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas / Houston, Boston / DC, London, Dubai, and Singapore. Numbers are public-range anchors from the 2026 salary report, the salary guide, and the city-firm posts linked below. They are not offer letters. Last full pass: 24 August 2026.
The rule that saves the spreadsheet
Keep the currency local. Do not convert a London base into a New York story.
A £100,000 McKinsey MBA base is not "$127,000, so NYC wins." It is a UK package with UK tax, UK bonus language, and a UK housing market. Forum conversions are how people talk themselves into the wrong office.
Three other rules:
- MBB US campus base is usually cohort-standard. NYC does not get a published +$20K McKinsey/BCG/Bain bump the way a bank or some Big 4 practices do. Confirm the live letter anyway.
- Tier 2 and Big 4 show more local variation. That is where the NYC / SF / Dallas rows in the table below actually move cash.
- Title traps travel. McKinsey Associate is post-MBA. BCG Associate is undergrad. L.E.K. Associate is not McKinsey Associate. Read the degree requirement, not the English word.
US snapshot: same MBB base, different cities
US first-year bands from the salary report (directional, 2026):
| Path | MBB | Strong Tier 2 / strategy arm | Big 4 consulting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Undergrad / analyst | $110K–$125K base; $125K–$160K+ all-in | $90K–$110K base; $100K–$135K all-in | $85K–$105K base; $90K–$125K all-in |
| MBA / experienced | $175K–$195K base; $220K–$280K+ all-in | $160K–$180K base; $175K–$230K all-in | $150K–$175K base; $160K–$210K all-in |
Campus-posted MBB bases that sit inside those bands: McKinsey / Bain MBA $192,000, BCG MBA $190,000, undergrad McKinsey BA / Bain AC ~$112,000, BCG Associate ~$110,000–$115,000. Firm pages: McKinsey, BCG, Bain.
City adjustments on top of that
| City | MBB base (US campus) | Tier 2 / Big 4 adjustment (some practices) |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | None — standardized cohort base | +$10,000–$20,000 |
| San Francisco | None | +$10,000–$15,000 |
| Chicago | None | At par |
| Dallas / Houston | None | −$5,000 to at par |
| Boston / DC | None (confirm the letter) | Usually near the top of the national band |
Source: consulting salary guide and 2026 salary report, city table checked July–August 2026. "None" means the published campus base does not carry a named city premium. It does not mean take-home is the same.
The rare filing that makes the flat-base point official: L.E.K.'s 2026 US H-1B materials showed a $185,000 Consultant base across US offices. That is a government document, not a forum. L.E.K. salary.
New York
NYC is the default comparison city and the worst place to use "the number" without tax.
What is true in 2026:
- MBB MBA base is the same $190K–$192K you would see in Chicago.
- Big 4 and some Tier 2 practices add +$10K–$20K versus a mid-continent office.
- The salary guide worked example is built on New York: a modeled BCG MBA year-1 of $267,600 versus a modeled Deloitte MBA year-1 of $136,500. That gap is tier, not borough.
What candidates get wrong: treating a NYC MBB offer as "$20K richer than Dallas" because rent is higher, then asking recruiting to "make up COL." On a US campus MBB letter, that conversation usually does not exist. The office decision is lifestyle, travel model, and which clients you will sit with — not a COL rider.
State and city tax are real. Do not net a NYC package against a Texas package by subtracting rent only. Subtract tax first, then housing.
San Francisco
SF follows the NYC pattern on MBB: no published campus-base premium. Some Tier 2 / Big 4 practices add +$10K–$15K.
The Bay Area conversation that actually matters is mix: more technology and digital work, different exit density into product and strategy roles at tech companies, and a housing market that will eat a Big 4 analyst offer faster than an MBB MBA offer. If the letter is core Deloitte or PwC Advisory rather than Monitor / Strategy&, price it on the Big 4 and PwC pages, not against BCG's $190K.
Chicago
Chicago is the clean control city. MBB campus base is at par with NYC. Tier 2 / Big 4 is at par in the public adjustment table.
That makes Chicago the honest place to ask: "If the cash is the same as New York on paper, do I want the New York hours and New York rent?" For a lot of Midwest and second-year MBA candidates, the answer is no, and it is not a consolation prize. McKinsey, BCG, and Bain all run full generalist offices here. The hierarchy and staffing model do not become junior because the skyline is shorter.
Dallas and Houston
MBB campus base: still no published cut. Tier 2 / Big 4: −$5,000 to at par.
Texas is the after-tax story people skip. There is no state income tax. A $192,000 Dallas MBB base can clear more than a $192,000 New York base before anyone mentions rent. That does not make Dallas "better." It makes a NYC-versus-Dallas spreadsheet that ignores tax a bad spreadsheet.
Energy, industrials, and a different travel pattern show up more often than a New York financial-services diet. If that is the work you want, the city is the product. If you want PE exits that cluster in New York, say that out loud instead of arguing COL.
Boston and Washington, DC
MBB campus base: treat as standardized; confirm the letter. Tier 2 / Big 4: usually near the top of the national band, not a named premium with a clean dollar figure in the public table.
Boston's consulting market leans life sciences, education, and the firms that sit next to that work (including L.E.K.). DC leans public sector, federal, and the Big 4 / Booz Allen gravity that is not the same job as a McKinsey generalist study. Do not compare a DC federal-implementation offer to a Boston L.E.K. life-sciences offer and call it a city effect. It is a practice effect.
London
Quoted in pounds. Indicative 2026 first-year bands from the salary report:
| Path | London MBB (indicative) | Other EU hubs (indicative) |
|---|---|---|
| Analyst / BA | Base often £50,000–£70,000 plus bonus. Signing exists, smaller than US. | Base often lower than London. Bonus and tax differ a lot. |
| MBA | Base often £90,000–£110,000 plus bonus and a signing cheque | Wide spread. Get base, bonus target, and signing in writing. |
A London package that looks "low" versus NYC can still be the right office. UK tax, National Insurance, and rent are not personality. Converting £100,000 at last Tuesday's FX rate and stacking it next to $192,000 is the error the salary report exists to stop.
If you are choosing London versus a US office inside the same firm, you are choosing a market, a visa path, and an exit geography — not a $40K haircut. Firm-level UK context: consulting firms in the UK.
Dubai
Dubai is the city where gross is close to take-home, because the UAE levies no personal income tax. That is the structural fact. It is not a 40% raise on a US offer until you have both letters and a visa plan.
Public self-reported totals (Greater Dubai Area, levels.fyi, cited on consulting firms in Dubai):
| Firm and level | Reported total (AED) |
|---|---|
| McKinsey, entry analyst | around AED 276,000 |
| McKinsey, Engagement Manager | up to around AED 851,000 |
| BCG, Associate | around AED 393,000 |
| BCG, Project Leader | up to around AED 1.02M |
| McKinsey Dubai median (office) | near AED 477,000 |
| BCG Dubai median (office) | near AED 500,000 |
Tenure Careers' 2026 GCC note (accessed July 2026, directional): base Dubai MBB entry often discussed as AED 180K–240K plus a 40–80% bonus; Riyadh same level roughly 20–40% higher; energy-transition and government experience can carry a 10–20% premium.
The work mix is not New York. Government, sovereign programs, and national transformation dominate more than a typical US generalist diet. Strategy& has been in the UAE since the 1990s. If you take Dubai for the tax line and then dislike public-sector cases, you took the wrong city.
Visa, family status, and whether the package includes housing or schooling allowances change the total more than a $5K US signing argument. Get those lines in writing. Compare AED to AED, not to a converted $192K.
Singapore
Quoted in SGD. Public ranges from consulting firms in Singapore (levels.fyi / Glassdoor, accessed July 2026 — Glassdoor Singapore is often monthly, so totals use package data):
| Level | Reported total (SGD) |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate hire (BA / Associate) | ~90,000–150,000 first year |
| Post-graduate MBB consultant | ~197,000–277,000 (levels.fyi median ~208,000) |
| Manager / Engagement Manager | ~250,000–350,000+ |
| Big 4 strategy and Tier 2 at the same level | ~10–25% below MBB |
Foreign hires run on the Employment Pass. From 1 January 2027, new EP qualifying salaries rise with age (from SGD 6,000 / month at 23 or below, up to SGD 11,500 at 45+, higher in financial services), and most applications are scored by COMPASS. Candidates at SGD 22,500 / month and some intra-company transfers bypass COMPASS. That is Ministry of Manpower policy, not a firm perk. Read it before you treat a Singapore offer as a clean lateral from London.
Worked comparison: one MBA, four cities
Same person. Same firm family. Four letters. Directional model, not a quote. The point is which lines move.
| Line | NYC MBB MBA | Dallas MBB MBA | London MBB MBA | Dubai MBB (expat) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base (local) | $192,000 | $192,000 | £90,000–£110,000 | AED letter, not a FX of $192K |
| Published city premium | None | None | N/A — different scale | N/A — different scale |
| Personal income tax | Federal + NY + city | Federal only (no state) | UK income tax + NI | None on salary |
| Year-1 extras | Signing + bonus in USD | Same USD extras | Smaller signing than US, in GBP | Allowances (housing / schooling) often matter more than bonus chatter |
| What you are actually choosing | Density, PE exits, cost | After-tax cash, energy mix | UK market, visa, sterling | Tax, Gulf work, visa |
If you only compare the base column, NYC and Dallas look identical and London looks "cheap." If you compare tax and currency, they are different products.
A Big 4 analyst in this table would not have a flat $192K row. They would have NYC +$10K–$20K and Dallas −$5K to par on a much lower national band ($80K–$115K analyst, practice-dependent). That is when city is a cash decision, not just a life decision.
What to ask recruiting before you pick an office
- Is US base cohort-standard for my class, or does this office have a named differential?
- For London / Dubai / Singapore: base, target bonus, signing, and allowances in local currency, in writing.
- When does the first bonus hit, and is it pro-rated if I start off-cycle?
- Clawback on signing if I leave in year one.
- For Singapore: who holds the EP, and is the offer contingent on COMPASS?
- For Dubai: what is in the package besides base — housing, flights, schooling?
- Which entity is this letter? Core, Monitor, Strategy&, Parthenon, or something else. Practice beats city.
Do not lead a coffee chat with compensation. Do not bluff a competing city's offer you do not have. Offer negotiation is the playbook once the letter exists.
How to use this page
- Write the city and the firm + practice, not just the city.
- Put every number in the currency on the letter.
- Subtract tax before you subtract rent.
- Download the 2026 salary report PDF and use the city table there next to this page.
- If you do not have an offer yet, the city page is research. The case is the gate.