National ranking · 2024 BEA RPP
The most expensive U.S. states
All 51 states plus D.C., ranked by overall Regional Price Parity. California tops the list at 110.7 - 11% above the national average.
- 51
- States ranked
- 110.7
- #1 - California
- 103.6
- Bar for the top 10
The verdict
Housing, not goods, drives the state-to-state gap: California's rents run 2.65× Arkansas's, while goods differ by only 1.13×.
- 2.65×
- rents ratio, priciest to cheapest state
- 1.13×
- goods ratio, same two states
- 1.27×
- overall cost ratio
PlainCost tracks BEA Regional Price Parities for all 50 U.S. states plus D.C., the federal benchmark for what a dollar buys. California, at 110.7, is the most expensive state, 1.27× costlier than Arkansas, the cheapest tracked state at 86.9. Housing drives most of the spread; goods prices barely move between states.
- Arkansas is the least expensive of 51 states tracked
- California sits at the 100th percentile, the single most expensive state by overall RPP
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the costliest states price well above the national benchmark of 100. This ranking draws on the agency's 2024 Regional Price Parities release, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia. See our methodology for how the index is built.
The bar for the top 10
Where the #10 cutoff sits among all 51 states
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US states. 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 all 51 U.S. states and D.C. 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 Hawaii, the Northeast (Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut), the West Coast (California, Washington, Oregon), and D.C., driven overwhelmingly by housing costs rather than goods prices.
Use this ranking when comparing states for a relocation, weighing a remote-work move, or sanity-checking a cost-of-living adjustment offer. State-level figures blend expensive metros with cheaper rural areas within the same state, for a specific city or metro area, see the metro-level ranking instead, which is more precise for an actual moving decision. The companion salary equivalent calculator converts your current salary to the purchasing-power equivalent in any state.
| # | State | Overall | Goods | Services | Rents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 110.7 | 106.1 | 158.9 | 154.3 |
| 2 | Hawaii | 110.0 | 111.6 | 190.2 | 125.3 |
| 3 | District of Columbia | 109.9 | 106.5 | 112.8 | 155.0 |
| 4 | New Jersey | 108.8 | 107.1 | 114.2 | 134.3 |
| 5 | New York | 107.9 | 107.3 | 134.4 | 122.2 |
| 6 | Washington | 107.0 | 104.4 | 92.9 | 126.0 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | 105.8 | 98.8 | 152.1 | 128.1 |
| 8 | Maryland | 105.0 | 102.5 | 110.9 | 121.1 |
| 9 | New Hampshire | 104.2 | 98.6 | 133.7 | 114.9 |
| 10 | Connecticut | 103.6 | 97.3 | 146.5 | 117.0 |
| 11 | Florida | 103.4 | 98.1 | 90.1 | 122.1 |
| 12 | Oregon | 103.4 | 105.3 | 107.0 | 108.6 |
| 13 | Colorado | 103.1 | 98.7 | 85.0 | 127.4 |
| 14 | Alaska | 102.4 | 106.3 | 119.0 | 93.8 |
| 15 | Rhode Island | 102.3 | 97.2 | 146.7 | 105.6 |
| 16 | Virginia | 101.1 | 100.4 | 92.2 | 106.8 |
| 17 | Arizona | 100.7 | 95.4 | 92.3 | 106.8 |
| 18 | Nevada | 100.0 | 96.3 | 90.5 | 114.1 |
| 19 | Illinois | 100.0 | 103.8 | 85.0 | 93.9 |
| 20 | Delaware | 99.8 | 96.2 | 103.8 | 102.0 |
| 21 | Utah | 98.9 | 96.4 | 78.7 | 107.8 |
| 22 | Minnesota | 98.6 | 100.5 | 90.8 | 91.3 |
| 23 | Vermont | 98.0 | 97.3 | 125.8 | 86.5 |
| 24 | Pennsylvania | 97.6 | 99.4 | 109.3 | 85.1 |
| 25 | Texas | 97.1 | 98.1 | 87.5 | 96.5 |
| 26 | Maine | 97.0 | 97.2 | 135.2 | 78.9 |
| 27 | Georgia | 96.3 | 98.9 | 92.8 | 88.7 |
| 28 | Michigan | 96.2 | 96.0 | 100.2 | 82.3 |
| 29 | Idaho | 95.5 | 96.3 | 70.4 | 90.0 |
| 30 | Montana | 94.6 | 96.0 | 72.3 | 84.6 |
| 31 | North Carolina | 94.3 | 96.6 | 88.6 | 81.4 |
| 32 | Wisconsin | 94.1 | 94.3 | 89.9 | 79.3 |
| 33 | South Carolina | 93.7 | 96.3 | 88.3 | 80.5 |
| 34 | Indiana | 93.3 | 95.5 | 85.5 | 73.9 |
| 35 | Ohio | 92.8 | 93.7 | 95.8 | 73.0 |
| 36 | Wyoming | 92.7 | 95.4 | 78.4 | 71.1 |
| 37 | New Mexico | 92.2 | 96.1 | 77.9 | 73.6 |
| 38 | Tennessee | 91.9 | 96.2 | 72.1 | 79.1 |
| 39 | Missouri | 90.8 | 96.3 | 79.4 | 69.9 |
| 40 | Kentucky | 90.2 | 96.0 | 75.3 | 64.3 |
| 41 | Nebraska | 90.1 | 94.1 | 75.6 | 75.2 |
| 42 | Kansas | 90.1 | 94.0 | 88.4 | 71.2 |
| 43 | West Virginia | 89.5 | 96.5 | 92.2 | 54.2 |
| 44 | North Dakota | 89.0 | 95.7 | 73.7 | 71.4 |
| 45 | Alabama | 88.8 | 96.4 | 84.6 | 61.8 |
| 46 | South Dakota | 88.6 | 95.5 | 79.7 | 67.6 |
| 47 | Louisiana | 88.2 | 93.7 | 71.5 | 63.1 |
| 48 | Oklahoma | 87.8 | 93.8 | 73.9 | 62.8 |
| 49 | Iowa | 87.8 | 93.7 | 83.3 | 65.3 |
| 50 | Mississippi | 87.0 | 96.2 | 78.4 | 56.5 |
| 51 | Arkansas | 86.9 | 93.6 | 74.7 | 58.2 |
What to do with this ranking
The bar for the top 10 is an overall RPP of 103.6 - roughly the 80th percentile of all 51 states.
- Comparing a move between states? Convert your salary to local purchasing power before you anchor on a number. Salary calculator
- State figures blend expensive and cheap metros together, for an actual relocation decision, check the specific metro. Most expensive metros
- Looking the other way? See where a dollar stretches furthest by state. All states A-Z
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. states. A value of 100 equals the national average. States above 100 are more expensive; below 100, less expensive. This ranking shows all 51 states and D.C. sorted by overall RPP, meaning the highest cost of living relative to the national average.
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by State 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. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.