Explore states

Official data. Everyday context.

Cost of living, place by place

What does it cost to live here? Start with comparable price levels, then look at local rent and income. Explore official data for states, counties and metropolitan areas without reducing a household budget to a single score.

BEA 2024 · HUD FY2027 · ACS 2020–2024 · CPI through 2026-10

Compare the states Explore rankings

Price levels ≠ price changes

100the U.S. price benchmark
Below U.S. pricesAbove U.S. prices

RPP tells you how prices compare across places. CPI tells you how prices change over time.

Understand the measures →
$80,734
U.S. median household income

ACS 2020–2024

$1,667
U.S. median 2BR benchmark

Population-weighted median county FMR, FY2027

3.7%
U.S. 12-month inflation

Latest comparable month: 2026-09; NSA CPI-U

110.7 / 86.9
Highest / lowest state RPP

California / Arkansas

A common benchmark. A closer local view.
51
states and District of Columbia
3,144
counties and equivalents
386
BEA metro areas
100
U.S. price-level benchmark

How prices compare across states

2024 all-items RPP. U.S. = 100. Choose a state for county rents, income and metro comparisons.

AL88.8AK102.4AZ100.7AR86.9CA110.7CO103.1CT103.6DE99.8DC109.9FL103.4GA96.3HI110.0ID95.5IL100.0IN93.3IA87.8KS90.1KY90.2LA88.2ME97.0MD105.0MA105.8MI96.2MN98.6MS87.0MO90.8MT94.6NE90.1NV100.0NH104.2NJ108.8NM92.2NY107.9NC94.3ND89.0OH92.8OK87.8OR103.4PA97.6RI102.3SC93.7SD88.6TN91.9TX97.1UT98.9VT98.0VA101.1WA107.0WV89.5WI94.1WY92.7
Below 9090 to under 100100 to under 110110 or higher

Tile positions are schematic. Read the state data table.

Read the local picture

Regional Price Parities (RPPs) compare prices across places in the same year. An index of 110 means prices are 10% above the U.S. level; 90 means 10% below. RPP measures relative price levels, while CPI measures price change over time.

Five most expensive metros by RPP

BEA 2024 all-items Regional Price Parity; U.S. = 100.

  1. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA115.6
  2. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL114.2
  3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA113.6
  4. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ112.6
  5. Napa, CA112.6
0115.6

Black marker: U.S. benchmark = 100 in each row.

Put the benchmark in context

Fair Market Rent (FMR) is HUD’s estimate of the 40th percentile gross rent for standard-quality rental homes occupied by recent movers. It includes rent and most tenant-paid utilities. A household’s actual rent can differ substantially by neighborhood, lease and property.

Five least expensive metros by RPP

BEA 2024 all-items Regional Price Parity; U.S. = 100.

  1. Monroe, LA83.6
  2. Eagle Pass, TX83.8
  3. Dothan, AL83.8
  4. Texarkana, TX-AR84.0
  5. Enid, OK *84.3
0100.0

Black marker: U.S. benchmark = 100 in each row.

The data in view

Consumer prices over time

U.S. city average: NSA all-items annual averages (M13), 1982–84 = 100. Latest partial year is excluded.

View chart data
Period or categoryValue
2015237.0
2016240.0
2017245.1
2018251.1
2019255.7
2020258.8
2021271.0
2022292.7
2023304.7
2024313.7
2025321.9

Ten highest state price levels

BEA all-items RPP, 2024; U.S. = 100.

  1. California110.7
  2. Hawaii110.0
  3. District of Columbia109.9
  4. New Jersey108.8
  5. New York107.9
  6. Washington107.0
  7. Massachusetts105.8
  8. Maryland105.0
  9. New Hampshire104.2
  10. Connecticut103.6
0110.7

Ten lowest state price levels

BEA all-items RPP, 2024; U.S. = 100.

  1. Arkansas86.9
  2. Mississippi87.0
  3. Iowa87.8
  4. Oklahoma87.8
  5. Louisiana88.2
  6. South Dakota88.6
  7. Alabama88.8
  8. North Dakota89.0
  9. West Virginia89.5
  10. Kansas90.1
090.1

County rent-to-income benchmarks

Count of counties with both measures. Annual 2BR FMR / median household income; these are not observed household rent-burden buckets.

View chart data
Period or categoryValue
Under 20%1,182.0
20% to under 30%1,808.0
30% to under 40%144.0
40% or more9.0

Northeast consumer prices

NSA CPI-U annual average (M13), 1982–84 = 100.

View chart data
Period or categoryValue
2015252.2
2016254.9
2017259.5
2018265.1
2019269.4
2020272.9
2021283.6
2022303.3
2023313.8
2024324.4
2025334.6

Midwest consumer prices

NSA CPI-U annual average (M13), 1982–84 = 100.

View chart data
Period or categoryValue
2015224.2
2016226.1
2017229.9
2018234.3
2019237.8
2020240.0
2021252.2
2022272.4
2023282.8
2024290.4
2025298.4

South consumer prices

NSA CPI-U annual average (M13), 1982–84 = 100.

View chart data
Period or categoryValue
2015230.1
2016232.7
2017237.5
2018242.7
2019246.3
2020248.6
2021261.3
2022283.7
2023296.4
2024305.2
2025312.0

West consumer prices

NSA CPI-U annual average (M13), 1982–84 = 100.

View chart data
Period or categoryValue
2015243.0
2016247.7
2017254.7
2018263.3
2019270.4
2020275.1
2021287.5
2022310.5
2023323.8
2024332.9
2025341.9

All states and District of Columbia

BEA 2024 indexes; FY2027 population-weighted rent benchmarks; ACS 2020–2024 median household income.

StateAll-items RPPHousing RPP2BR rent / monthMedian income
Alabama88.861.8$1,170$63,999
Alaska102.493.8$1,519$92,788
Arizona100.7106.8$1,616$79,964
Arkansas86.958.2$1,061$60,773
California110.7154.3$2,632$99,122
Colorado103.1127.4$1,916$95,470
Connecticut103.6117.0$2,033$95,781
Delaware99.8102.0$1,727$84,954
District of Columbia109.9155.0$2,438$109,870
Florida103.4122.1$1,962$74,568
Georgia96.388.7$1,528$77,353
Hawaii110.0125.3$2,467$100,389
Idaho95.590.0$1,367$77,800
Illinois100.093.9$1,724$83,390
Indiana93.373.9$1,302$71,957
Iowa87.865.3$1,113$75,059
Kansas90.171.2$1,212$74,275
Kentucky90.264.3$1,155$63,726
Louisiana88.263.1$1,161$60,756
Maine97.078.9$1,714$74,733
Maryland105.0121.1$2,103$103,678
Massachusetts105.8128.1$2,566$103,960
Michigan96.282.3$1,361$72,875
Minnesota98.691.3$1,507$89,062
Mississippi87.056.5$1,087$56,447
Missouri90.869.9$1,250$70,702
Montana94.684.6$1,529$72,509
Nebraska90.175.2$1,260$76,475
Nevada100.0114.1$1,672$78,260
New Hampshire104.2114.9$2,010$99,031
New Jersey108.8134.3$2,268$103,556
New Mexico92.273.6$1,282$64,059
New York107.9122.2$2,402$85,974
North Carolina94.381.4$1,441$72,388
North Dakota89.071.4$1,102$76,657
Ohio92.873.0$1,273$71,389
Oklahoma87.862.8$1,127$65,039
Oregon103.4108.6$1,691$83,011
Pennsylvania97.685.1$1,528$77,971
Rhode Island102.3105.6$1,911$87,796
South Carolina93.780.5$1,391$69,324
South Dakota88.667.6$1,187$75,081
Tennessee91.979.1$1,381$69,595
Texas97.196.5$1,488$78,476
Utah98.9107.8$1,493$95,166
Vermont98.086.5$1,773$81,203
Virginia101.1106.8$1,792$93,170
Washington107.0126.0$2,044$98,141
West Virginia89.554.2$1,039$59,608
Wisconsin94.179.3$1,251$77,485
Wyoming92.771.1$1,094$76,176

Latest national and regional inflation

BLS CPI-U, not seasonally adjusted. A latest-month change is not reported when its year-earlier observation is missing. The separately dated latest comparable change uses the most recent month with both observations. Annual charts use published M13 averages.

CPI areaLatest index monthChange for latest monthLatest comparable month12-month change then
U.S. city average2026-10not reported2026-093.7%
Northeast2026-10not reported2026-094.2%
Midwest2026-10not reported2026-094.2%
South2026-10not reported2026-093.4%
West2026-10not reported2026-093.4%

Explore further

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