Most Expensive Cities to Live in the US

Top 100 most expensive US cities (population > 25,000) ranked by cost of living index.

#	City	State	Cost Index	Income	Rent	Population
1	Manhattan Beach	CA	310	$193,904	$3,492/mo	34,584
2	Cupertino	CA	310	$231,139	$3,501/mo	58,886
3	Saratoga	CA	310	$241,348	$3,501/mo	30,335
4	Los Altos	CA	310	$250,001	$3,501/mo	30,736
5	Palo Alto	CA	304	$220,408	$3,328/mo	67,231
6	Menlo Park	CA	301	$206,588	$3,156/mo	32,775
7	Newport Beach	CA	300	$158,461	$3,146/mo	84,304
8	Los Gatos	CA	294	$207,891	$2,969/mo	32,773
9	Belmont	CA	293	$207,609	$2,894/mo	27,505
10	Foster City	CA	293	$193,633	$3,501/mo	32,964
11	Lafayette	CA	292	$222,393	$2,855/mo	25,277
12	San Carlos	CA	290	$233,333	$2,802/mo	29,797
13	Beverly Hills	CA	289	$127,979	$2,805/mo	31,955
14	Mountain View	CA	288	$179,917	$2,975/mo	82,363
15	Burlingame	CA	285	$168,832	$2,643/mo	30,526
16	Redwood City	CA	282	$150,840	$2,959/mo	82,423
17	Sunnyvale	CA	281	$181,862	$3,065/mo	153,455
18	Danville	CA	277	$223,206	$3,501/mo	43,426
19	Rancho Palos Verdes	CA	273	$175,307	$3,501/mo	41,259
20	University Park	TX	270	$250,001	$2,940/mo	25,104
21	Mercer Island	WA	269	$202,359	$2,464/mo	25,282
22	San Mateo	CA	263	$152,669	$3,079/mo	103,555
23	Santa Monica	CA	259	$109,739	$2,338/mo	91,535
24	Santa Clara	CA	255	$173,670	$2,985/mo	129,239
25	Campbell	CA	250	$147,128	$2,751/mo	42,848
26	Pleasanton	CA	250	$186,206	$3,017/mo	77,500
27	Wellesley	MA	249	$250,001	$2,849/mo	29,906
28	McLean	VA	248	$250,001	$3,376/mo	50,232
29	Encinitas	CA	242	$150,471	$2,730/mo	61,585
30	San Ramon	CA	241	$197,358	$2,916/mo	85,734
31	Dublin	CA	238	$205,046	$3,174/mo	70,542
32	Fremont	CA	235	$176,350	$2,905/mo	228,518
33	South Pasadena	CA	234	$128,105	$2,218/mo	26,297
34	Pacifica	CA	234	$156,819	$3,080/mo	37,527
35	East Honolulu	HI	234	$158,398	$3,249/mo	50,961
36	Kailua CDP (Honolulu County)	HI	234	$146,615	$3,068/mo	39,762
37	Milpitas	CA	231	$176,822	$3,112/mo	78,216
38	Santa Barbara	CA	230	$101,672	$2,302/mo	88,024
39	San Francisco	CA	228	$141,446	$2,419/mo	836,321
40	Eastern Goleta Valley	CA	226	$136,839	$2,924/mo	29,411
41	Dana Point	CA	226	$127,246	$2,883/mo	32,883
42	Brookline	MA	225	$140,631	$2,804/mo	62,822
43	Sammamish	WA	224	$227,273	$2,728/mo	66,375
44	South San Francisco	CA	222	$135,909	$2,833/mo	64,487
45	San Bruno	CA	221	$135,976	$2,696/mo	42,612
46	Southlake	TX	221	$250,001	$3,501/mo	31,044
47	Irvine	CA	219	$129,647	$2,893/mo	308,160
48	Redondo Beach	CA	218	$144,588	$2,562/mo	69,814
49	Lexington	MA	218	$219,402	$2,816/mo	34,085
50	Laguna Niguel	CA	218	$140,605	$2,819/mo	64,023
51	Berkeley	CA	216	$108,558	$2,127/mo	120,223
52	San Jose	CA	216	$141,565	$2,617/mo	990,054
53	Carlsbad	CA	215	$139,326	$2,678/mo	114,500
54	Walnut	CA	215	$133,762	$3,120/mo	27,857
55	San Rafael	CA	214	$109,317	$2,346/mo	60,604
56	Bellevue	WA	214	$161,300	$2,505/mo	151,199
57	Arcadia	CA	214	$116,142	$2,118/mo	55,550
58	Yorba Linda	CA	214	$152,060	$2,779/mo	67,407
59	Culver City	CA	214	$122,312	$2,683/mo	39,993
60	Newark	CA	214	$164,909	$2,730/mo	47,145
61	Parkland	FL	213	$200,156	$3,306/mo	35,799
62	San Clemente	CA	213	$134,735	$2,398/mo	63,510
63	Alameda	CA	212	$132,015	$2,394/mo	76,876
64	North Tustin	CA	212	$186,250	$2,397/mo	26,038
65	Union City	CA	210	$137,194	$2,713/mo	68,141
66	Newton	MA	210	$184,989	$2,388/mo	88,504
67	Mountain House	CA	210	$171,675	$3,232/mo	25,108
68	Potomac	MD	208	$239,205	$2,616/mo	46,230
69	Daly City	CA	207	$119,570	$2,523/mo	102,560
70	Cambridge	MA	207	$126,469	$2,742/mo	117,794
71	Livermore	CA	206	$153,602	$2,640/mo	85,870
72	El Cerrito	CA	206	$127,475	$2,444/mo	25,781
73	Santa Cruz	CA	206	$111,427	$2,302/mo	60,953
74	Needham	MA	206	$212,241	$2,412/mo	32,059
75	Walnut Creek	CA	205	$135,665	$2,613/mo	69,790
76	Bethesda	MD	205	$191,348	$2,437/mo	67,403
77	Castro Valley	CA	204	$138,069	$2,499/mo	65,389
78	Cerritos	CA	203	$133,953	$2,909/mo	48,340
79	Pleasant Hill	CA	203	$144,513	$2,511/mo	34,335
80	Belmont	MA	202	$178,188	$2,387/mo	27,009
81	Morgan Hill	CA	201	$159,758	$2,275/mo	45,152
82	Mission Viejo	CA	200	$136,071	$2,713/mo	92,415
83	Redmond	WA	200	$162,099	$2,343/mo	75,721
84	Harrison	NY	200	$153,273	$2,585/mo	29,279
85	Mill Creek East	WA	200	$183,466	$3,013/mo	25,461
86	Fountain Valley	CA	200	$111,797	$2,507/mo	56,358
87	Huntington Beach	CA	200	$119,885	$2,424/mo	196,010
88	Costa Mesa	CA	199	$110,073	$2,395/mo	110,538
89	East Palo Alto	CA	199	$104,832	$2,209/mo	29,143
90	Dix Hills	NY	198	$219,636	$2,804/mo	25,042
91	Novato	CA	197	$112,193	$2,422/mo	52,689
92	Laguna Hills	CA	197	$122,778	$2,622/mo	30,921
93	Altadena	CA	196	$129,123	$2,250/mo	41,921
94	Hoboken	NJ	196	$176,943	$2,819/mo	58,340
95	Thousand Oaks	CA	196	$134,367	$2,580/mo	125,676
96	Princeton	NJ	195	$184,113	$2,448/mo	30,451
97	Aliso Viejo	CA	195	$137,970	$2,774/mo	51,320
98	Goleta	CA	194	$118,039	$2,385/mo	32,693
99	Kirkland	WA	194	$143,533	$2,342/mo	91,614
100	Pasadena	CA	193	$103,778	$2,218/mo	136,462

About This Ranking

The cost of living index measures how expensive it is to live in each city compared to the national average (100). Cities at the top of this list have significantly higher costs for housing, groceries, transportation, and utilities.

High cost-of-living cities often correlate with higher median incomes, but the income premium doesn't always offset the extra costs. Use the income column to evaluate real purchasing power.

See also: Cheapest Cities · Most Expensive States · Best Affordable Cities