What Is the Cost of Living Index?
Our Cost of Living Index measures how expensive it is to live in a city or area compared to the national average of 100. A score of 120 means living costs are 20% above average, while 80 means 20% below.
The index is a weighted composite of three components:
-
Housing Costs — 40%
Median rent compared to the US median ($1,319/mo) -
Regional Prices — 35%
BEA Regional Price Parities measuring goods & services costs per metro area -
Home Values — 25%
Median home value relative to the national median ($304,900)
Sources: US Census Bureau (ACS 2023), Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), HUD Fair Market Rents, Zillow Research.
Cost of Living by State
Click a state to explore its cities. Green = below average, red = above.
Compare Two Places
Select two cities or two states to see a side-by-side cost of living comparison.
VS
Popular Cities
New York
NY
155
cost index
Los Angeles
CA
169
cost index
Chicago
IL
104
cost index
Houston
TX
96
cost index
Phoenix
AZ
112
cost index
Philadelphia
PA
95
cost index
San Antonio
TX
89
cost index
San Diego
CA
176
cost index
Dallas
TX
103
cost index
San Jose
CA
216
cost index
Austin
TX
127
cost index
Jacksonville
FL
98
cost index
Fort Worth
TX
101
cost index
Columbus
OH
89
cost index
Charlotte
NC
108
cost index
Indianapolis city (balance)
IN
84
cost index
San Francisco
CA
228
cost index
Seattle
WA
175
cost index
Denver
CO
139
cost index
Oklahoma City
OK
82
cost index
Most Expensive Cities
1.
310
Cupertino, CA
58,886 pop
2.
304
Palo Alto, CA
67,231 pop
3.
300
Newport Beach, CA
84,304 pop
4.
288
Mountain View, CA
82,363 pop
5.
282
Redwood City, CA
82,423 pop
6.
281
Sunnyvale, CA
153,455 pop
7.
263
San Mateo, CA
103,555 pop
8.
259
Santa Monica, CA
91,535 pop
9.
255
Santa Clara, CA
129,239 pop
10.
250
Pleasanton, CA
77,500 pop
Cheapest Cities
1.
57
Youngstown, OH
59,605 pop
2.
58
Mayagüez zona urbana, PR
59,427 pop
3.
59
Ponce zona urbana, PR
109,765 pop
4.
61
Flint, MI
80,835 pop
5.
62
Decatur, IL
70,368 pop
6.
64
Canton, OH
70,105 pop
7.
64
Springfield, OH
58,410 pop
8.
65
Caguas zona urbana, PR
72,862 pop
9.
65
Muncie, IN
64,739 pop
10.
66
Dayton, OH
136,741 pop
Browse by State
AL
74
AK
90
AZ
89
AR
70
CA
144
CO
114
CT
125
DE
105
DC
155
FL
110
GA
82
HI
157
ID
87
IL
80
IN
78
IA
71
KS
72
KY
78
LA
74
ME
87
MD
119
MA
129
MI
78
MN
82
MS
71
MO
75
MT
89
NE
72
NV
109
NH
102
NJ
128
NM
86
NY
111
NC
84
ND
74
OH
78
OK
71
OR
106
PA
83
PR
70
RI
111
SC
82
SD
74
TN
80
TX
88
UT
108
VT
92
VA
104
WA
119
WV
73
WI
79
WY
90