Changelog
A dated record of real changes to PlainCost's dataset and methodology, data refreshes, enrichments, and corrections. See the editorial & corrections policy for how reports are verified. We never backfill or invent an entry, an empty gap between dates means nothing changed.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, PlainCost launched on April 3, 2026 with Regional Price Parity data covering 387 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, and was most recently refreshed on May 15, 2026. See the methodology page for how the dataset is built.
- Correction
Corrected three stale state-tax figures in the retiree tax guide: Kansas repealed its Social Security benefit tax for the 2024 tax year (it was still listed as taxing SS); South Carolina's top marginal income tax rate was updated from the pre-reform "up to 6.5%" to the 2026-reform rate of roughly 5.2% (Act 110/H.4216); the estate/inheritance-tax state count was corrected from twelve to sixteen states plus DC to include inheritance-only states. Verified against Tax Foundation, South Carolina DOR, Kiplinger, and AARP.
- Enrichment
Added Census ACS5 population and median household income figures for every metro and state, enabling real-purchasing-power calculations (local income adjusted for regional price levels) alongside the core BEA cost index.
- Data refresh
Refreshed and re-verified the full dataset against the Bureau of Economic Analysis's latest published Regional Price Parities release.
- Launch
PlainCost launched with BEA Regional Price Parity data (2024 reference year) covering 387 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas and 51 states.