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National ranking · 2024 BEA RPP

The most expensive U.S. metros

The 100 costliest metro areas in America, ranked by overall Regional Price Parity. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont tops the list at 115.6 - 16% above the national average.

100
Metros ranked
115.6
#1 - San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont
98.7
Bar to make the top 100

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the costliest metros price far above the national benchmark of 100. This ranking draws on the agency's 2024 Regional Price Parities release, published in December 2025 and covering all 387 metro areas. A $100,000 national salary stretches the least in the metros at the top of this list, see our methodology for how the index is built.

Most Expensive Cheapest Highest Rents

Top 12 most expensive metros

Overall RPP, 100 = national average

RPP

What this shows San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont leads, but every metro near the top is rent-driven, note each bar's rent index runs far above its overall figure.

Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities As of 2024

The bar to make this list

Where the #100 cutoff sits among all U.S. metros

99 Top 26% higher than 74% of 387 US metros

80–84: 3 US metros (1%). Below this entry. 84–88: 48 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 88–92: 94 US metros (24%). Below this entry. 92–96: 97 US metros (25%). Below this entry. 96–100: 55 US metros (14%). This entry sits in this band. 100–104: 54 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 104–108: 17 US metros (4%). Above this entry. 108–112: 14 US metros (4%). Above this entry. 112–116: 5 US metros (1%). Above this entry. 116–120: 0 US metros (0%). Above this entry. Top-100 cutoff 80 120 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024

This ranking sorts the 100 most expensive U.S. metropolitan areas by overall RPP, where 100 is the national average and a value of 130 indicates 30% above mean prices. The expensive end of the spectrum is dominated by California coastal metros (San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Santa Cruz-Watsonville), Hawaii (Honolulu, Kahului-Wailuku), the Northeast Corridor (New York-Newark-Jersey City, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk), and Washington D.C. The rent component is the dominant driver, these metros routinely show RPP-Rents of 150-180 while goods stay within 105-115 of the national average.

Use this ranking when negotiating a relocation salary or evaluating a remote-work cost-of-living adjustment. A common reviewer pitfall: assuming "expensive city" means uniformly high prices. The BEA breakdown lets you see that goods (a stable basket nationally) rarely move much, while services and especially rents do the heavy lifting. The companion salary equivalent calculator converts your current salary to the purchasing-power equivalent in any of these metros. Cross-reference with HUD Fair Market Rent tables for the federal 40th-percentile rent for your unit size, since the BEA RPP-rent is a blended index and may not reflect your specific apartment configuration.

# Metro area OverallGoodsServicesRents
1 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 115.6 108.5 172.6 194.7
2 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 114.2 103.6 97.2 155.6
3 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 113.6 106.6 158.6 170.4
4 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 112.6 110.3 127.0 148.6
5 Napa, CA 112.6 105.2 156.5 197.4
6 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA 111.9 108.0 174.2 179.3
7 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 111.1 104.0 92.8 151.3
8 Urban Honolulu, HI 111.0 111.6 187.3 135.5
9 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 110.5 105.2 152.9 171.1
10 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 110.4 105.2 156.7 211.9
11 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 109.9 105.2 152.7 164.3
12 Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY 109.4 110.3 136.8 115.8
13 Kahului-Wailuku, HI 109.4 111.6 190.6 119.2
14 Salinas, CA 109.0 105.2 154.2 145.7
15 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 108.9 104.8 106.7 151.1
16 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 108.8 105.2 149.8 151.4
17 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA 108.6 105.2 147.8 144.4
18 Vallejo, CA 108.5 105.2 155.0 142.0
19 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 108.3 99.7 148.8 148.4
20 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA 107.8 105.2 154.8 139.6
21 Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area 106.9 97.3 147.1 150.5
22 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA 106.7 105.2 151.3 130.2
23 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 106.4 101.4 148.6 129.3
24 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO 105.8 101.0 87.9 146.9
25 Manchester-Nashua, NH 105.7 97.7 133.5 134.2
26 Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA 105.6 105.0 92.0 129.6
27 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 105.4 105.2 107.0 125.1
28 Anchorage, AK 105.4 107.3 111.8 109.9
29 Boulder, CO 105.2 96.1 82.7 157.0
30 Stockton-Lodi, CA 105.1 105.2 158.2 115.6
31 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 104.8 103.1 93.5 111.8
32 New Haven, CT 104.6 97.3 144.8 124.3
33 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 104.5 102.4 110.2 118.2
34 Yuba City, CA 104.2 105.2 160.8 108.3
35 Modesto, CA 104.1 105.2 152.3 108.5
36 Corvallis, OR 104.0 105.3 108.6 114.4
37 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA 103.9 105.0 100.6 115.0
38 Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA 103.7 105.0 91.7 116.7
39 Salem, OR 103.6 105.3 104.7 110.3
40 Bend, OR 103.6 105.3 105.0 110.0
41 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN 103.6 107.3 83.6 112.0
42 Bellingham, WA 103.3 105.0 99.9 112.9
43 Ithaca, NY 103.3 99.7 131.6 128.4
44 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 103.3 95.0 93.3 121.2
45 Fairbanks-College, AK 103.2 107.3 119.8 92.6
46 Naples-Marco Island, FL 103.2 96.2 87.8 129.4
47 Trenton-Princeton, NJ 103.2 99.8 112.3 135.1
48 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 103.1 102.8 90.7 117.9
49 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 102.7 97.3 144.9 110.2
50 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 102.6 96.8 114.4 113.1
51 Worcester, MA 102.5 97.0 155.2 113.0
52 Bozeman, MT 102.5 96.0 73.6 139.2
53 Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 102.4 105.0 96.0 108.2
54 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 102.4 96.2 88.2 128.0
55 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 102.3 96.2 86.9 125.1
56 Fresno, CA 102.2 105.2 161.0 95.7
57 Albany, OR 102.1 105.3 104.8 101.1
58 Portland-South Portland, ME 101.9 97.2 134.6 105.2
59 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 101.8 97.1 148.8 103.9
60 Hanford-Corcoran, CA 101.6 105.2 157.4 93.5
61 Eugene-Springfield, OR 101.6 105.3 102.5 98.3
62 Medford, OR 101.4 105.3 102.3 97.7
63 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 101.4 96.2 87.2 123.4
64 Chico, CA 101.2 105.2 158.8 91.9
65 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 101.1 96.1 82.2 120.6
66 Kenosha, WI 101.1 106.2 85.9 95.8
67 Reno, NV 101.0 96.3 89.3 123.5
68 Charleston-North Charleston, SC 101.0 96.3 88.2 119.8
69 Burlington-South Burlington, VT 100.9 97.3 125.5 103.8
70 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 100.9 95.5 88.5 125.8
71 Bakersfield-Delano, CA 100.9 105.2 158.3 90.3
72 Ann Arbor, MI 100.9 93.7 98.2 125.3
73 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 100.9 96.4 79.0 123.3
74 Lexington Park, MD 100.8 99.7 106.4 103.8
75 Kingston, NY 100.7 99.7 133.6 110.2
76 Colorado Springs, CO 100.7 96.1 83.2 116.2
77 Redding, CA 100.7 105.2 157.7 89.4
78 Punta Gorda, FL 100.5 96.2 87.3 113.3
79 Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT 100.4 97.3 148.6 93.7
80 Ogden, UT 100.3 96.4 78.8 117.9
81 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 100.3 105.0 91.2 97.1
82 Flagstaff, AZ 100.3 96.2 93.8 109.0
83 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 100.3 98.8 107.0 94.7
84 Amherst Town-Northampton, MA 100.2 97.0 155.7 97.5
85 Port St. Lucie, FL 100.2 96.2 87.0 113.6
86 Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV 100.2 96.3 90.6 115.5
87 Greeley, CO 100.2 96.1 82.0 112.6
88 Kennewick-Richland, WA 100.1 105.0 93.6 94.8
89 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 100.1 100.4 96.2 111.0
90 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 100.0 96.2 88.1 111.7
91 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 100.0 100.6 107.6 105.5
92 Visalia, CA 99.8 105.2 156.4 84.1
93 Waterbury-Shelton, CT 99.8 97.3 147.6 89.1
94 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 99.6 99.7 134.0 102.6
95 Jacksonville, FL 99.5 96.2 87.5 109.8
96 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 99.4 96.2 87.6 108.4
97 Charlottesville, VA 99.1 96.8 89.0 107.0
98 Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 98.9 99.8 109.2 98.7
99 Santa Fe, NM 98.8 96.1 76.7 108.0
100 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 98.7 100.7 108.1 96.3

What to do with this ranking

The bar to make this top 100 is an overall RPP of 98.7 - roughly the 74th percentile of all U.S. metros.

  • Negotiating relocation or remote pay for one of these metros? Convert your salary to local purchasing power before you anchor on a number. Salary calculator
  • Rents do the heavy lifting at the top (typically 150–180 vs goods near 110) - weight the housing line heaviest when you compare offers. Highest rents
  • Looking the other way? See where a dollar stretches furthest across the country. Cheapest metros

RPP is BEA's annual price-level index (national average = 100) - a spatial comparison for the data year shown, not a live market quote.

About This Ranking

The Regional Price Parity (RPP) measures price level differences across U.S. metro areas. A value of 100 equals the national average. Cities above 100 are more expensive; below 100, less expensive. This ranking shows the 100 metros with the highest overall RPP, meaning the highest cost of living relative to the national average.

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by Metropolitan Statistical Area Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by Metropolitan Statistical Area Index where national average = 100

Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.