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Most Expensive Cities in America

Top 100 metro areas ranked by overall cost of living index (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 data)

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-Berkeley, 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.

Most Expensive Cheapest Highest Rents
# Metro Overall
1 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 115.6
2 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 114.2
3 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 113.6
4 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 112.6
5 Napa, CA 112.6
6 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA 111.9
7 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 111.1
8 Urban Honolulu, HI 111.0
9 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 110.5
10 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 110.4
11 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 109.9
12 Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY 109.4
13 Kahului-Wailuku, HI 109.4
14 Salinas, CA 109.0
15 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 108.9
16 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 108.8
17 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA 108.6
18 Vallejo, CA 108.5
19 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 108.3
20 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA 107.8
21 Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area 106.9
22 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA 106.7
23 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 106.4
24 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO 105.8
25 Manchester-Nashua, NH 105.7
26 Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA 105.6
27 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 105.4
28 Anchorage, AK 105.4
29 Boulder, CO 105.2
30 Stockton-Lodi, CA 105.1
31 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 104.8
32 New Haven, CT 104.6
33 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 104.5
34 Yuba City, CA 104.2
35 Modesto, CA 104.1
36 Corvallis, OR 104.0
37 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA 103.9
38 Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA 103.7
39 Salem, OR 103.6
40 Bend, OR 103.6
41 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN 103.6
42 Bellingham, WA 103.3
43 Ithaca, NY 103.3
44 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 103.3
45 Fairbanks-College, AK 103.2
46 Naples-Marco Island, FL 103.2
47 Trenton-Princeton, NJ 103.2
48 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 103.1
49 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 102.7
50 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 102.6
51 Worcester, MA 102.5
52 Bozeman, MT 102.5
53 Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 102.4
54 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 102.4
55 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 102.3
56 Fresno, CA 102.2
57 Albany, OR 102.1
58 Portland-South Portland, ME 101.9
59 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 101.8
60 Hanford-Corcoran, CA 101.6
61 Eugene-Springfield, OR 101.6
62 Medford, OR 101.4
63 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 101.4
64 Chico, CA 101.2
65 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 101.1
66 Kenosha, WI 101.1
67 Reno, NV 101.0
68 Charleston-North Charleston, SC 101.0
69 Burlington-South Burlington, VT 100.9
70 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 100.9
71 Bakersfield-Delano, CA 100.9
72 Ann Arbor, MI 100.9
73 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 100.9
74 Lexington Park, MD 100.8
75 Kingston, NY 100.7
76 Colorado Springs, CO 100.7
77 Redding, CA 100.7
78 Punta Gorda, FL 100.5
79 Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT 100.4
80 Ogden, UT 100.3
81 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 100.3
82 Flagstaff, AZ 100.3
83 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 100.3
84 Amherst Town-Northampton, MA 100.2
85 Port St. Lucie, FL 100.2
86 Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV 100.2
87 Greeley, CO 100.2
88 Kennewick-Richland, WA 100.1
89 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 100.1
90 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 100.0
91 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 100.0
92 Visalia, CA 99.8
93 Waterbury-Shelton, CT 99.8
94 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 99.6
95 Jacksonville, FL 99.5
96 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 99.4
97 Charlottesville, VA 99.1
98 Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 98.9
99 Santa Fe, NM 98.8
100 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 98.7

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