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Cost of Living by State

51 states · National average = 100, from BEA Regional Price Parities. See our methodology.

Coverage status: all 50 states + District of Columbia (51 jurisdictions). Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (RPP), 2024 reference year. National average normalized to 100.

California has the highest state-level cost index at 110.7; Arkansas is lowest at 86.9, a 1.27× gap.

This table compares overall, goods, services, and rent prices across all 51 states and the District of Columbia using the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis's 2024 Regional Price Parities. An index of 100 is the national average: values above it indicate higher relative prices, while values below it indicate lower relative prices.

  • California ranks highest at RPP 110.7
  • Arkansas ranks lowest at RPP 86.9

Find the state comparison that matters

Filter the full BEA table by state name, then rank it by the price component you are weighing. Overall RPP is useful for a broad move; rent, goods, and services show where the difference comes from.

Rank by All 51 jurisdictions shown
State Overall Metros
Alabama Cheapest metros Most expensive 88.8 12
Alaska Cheapest metros Most expensive 102.4 2
Arizona Cheapest metros Most expensive 100.7 7
Arkansas Cheapest metros Most expensive 86.9 5
California Cheapest metros Most expensive 110.7 25
Colorado Cheapest metros Most expensive 103.1 7
Connecticut Cheapest metros Most expensive 103.6 5
Delaware Cheapest metros Most expensive 99.8 1
District of Columbia Cheapest metros Most expensive 109.9 1
Florida Cheapest metros Most expensive 103.4 22
Georgia Cheapest metros Most expensive 96.3 14
Hawaii Cheapest metros Most expensive 110.0 2
Idaho Cheapest metros Most expensive 95.5 6
Illinois Cheapest metros Most expensive 100.0 8
Indiana Cheapest metros Most expensive 93.3 12
Iowa Cheapest metros Most expensive 87.8 8
Kansas Cheapest metros Most expensive 90.1 4
Kentucky Cheapest metros Most expensive 90.2 6
Louisiana Cheapest metros Most expensive 88.2 10
Maine Cheapest metros Most expensive 97.0 3
Maryland Cheapest metros Most expensive 105.0 4
Massachusetts Cheapest metros Most expensive 105.8 6
Michigan Cheapest metros Most expensive 96.2 15
Minnesota Cheapest metros Most expensive 98.6 5
Mississippi Cheapest metros Most expensive 87.0 3
Missouri Cheapest metros Most expensive 90.8 8
Montana Cheapest metros Most expensive 94.6 5
Nebraska Cheapest metros Most expensive 90.1 3
Nevada Cheapest metros Most expensive 100.0 3
New Hampshire Cheapest metros Most expensive 104.2 1
New Jersey Cheapest metros Most expensive 108.8 3
New Mexico Cheapest metros Most expensive 92.2 4
New York Cheapest metros Most expensive 107.9 13
North Carolina Cheapest metros Most expensive 94.3 15
North Dakota Cheapest metros Most expensive 89.0 4
Ohio Cheapest metros Most expensive 92.8 12
Oklahoma Cheapest metros Most expensive 87.8 4
Oregon Cheapest metros Most expensive 103.4 8
Pennsylvania Cheapest metros Most expensive 97.6 16
Rhode Island Cheapest metros Most expensive 102.3 1
South Carolina Cheapest metros Most expensive 93.7 8
South Dakota Cheapest metros Most expensive 88.6 2
Tennessee Cheapest metros Most expensive 91.9 10
Texas Cheapest metros Most expensive 97.1 26
Utah Cheapest metros Most expensive 98.9 5
Vermont Cheapest metros Most expensive 98.0 1
Virginia Cheapest metros Most expensive 101.1 9
Washington Cheapest metros Most expensive 107.0 11
West Virginia Cheapest metros Most expensive 89.5 7
Wisconsin Cheapest metros Most expensive 94.1 13
Wyoming Cheapest metros Most expensive 92.7 2

How to read a state cost index

Regional Price Parities compare the price level of a representative basket with the national average, set to 100. A state at 110 has a price level roughly 10% above that benchmark; a state at 90 is roughly 10% below it. The figures are price indexes, not a household budget, salary recommendation, tax bill, or inflation rate.

Start with the overall index when you need a broad first cut. Then use the component columns to test the part of a move that matters to your household. Rent is particularly relevant for renters, services capture locally provided purchases, and goods provide a separate view of broadly traded items. Each state page keeps the same four measures together for a closer read.

The cheapest and most expensive states

The overall index above is a single number; the component breakdown for the two extremes shows WHERE that number comes from for each state.

California - most expensive state

Overall
110.7
Goods
106.1
Services
158.9
Rents
154.3

Arkansas - least expensive state

Overall
86.9
Goods
93.6
Services
74.7
Rents
58.2

The 1.27× gap between these two states is driven mostly by the component with the widest spread - see "Where the component differences are largest" below for the exact category.

Where the component differences are largest

These leaders are calculated from the same 51-jurisdiction table above. They show the highest and lowest observed state index for each component, so a broad overall rank does not have to stand in for every spending category.

Services

the price level for locally consumed services

Highest state index
Hawaii · 190.2
Lowest state index
Idaho · 70.4

Goods

the price level for goods

Highest state index
Hawaii · 111.6
Lowest state index
Arkansas · 93.6

For a fuller state-level analysis of the components behind the spread, see the state RPP decomposition. It explains how the component indexes are grouped and what they can and cannot establish.

Need to compare releases instead of current levels? Read the 2023–2024 state change report, which keeps the prior retained RPP series alongside the latest values.

Where housing changes the state ranking

Overall price and rent rankings do not always move together. These are the three largest differences in this table between a state’s overall-cost rank and its rent-cost rank. The comparison identifies a component worth checking; it does not establish why a state’s prices differ.

Colorado

Overall rank
#13 · 103.1
Rent rank
#5 · 127.4

Rent ranks 8 places higher than overall cost in this 51-jurisdiction comparison.

Alaska

Overall rank
#14 · 102.4
Rent rank
#22 · 93.8

Rent ranks 8 places lower than overall cost in this 51-jurisdiction comparison.

Maine

Overall rank
#26 · 97.0
Rent rank
#34 · 78.9

Rent ranks 8 places lower than overall cost in this 51-jurisdiction comparison.

Choose the next comparison for your decision

This state table is the national starting point. Use the next surface that matches the decision you are actually making instead of treating one statewide average as a household answer.

What this state table cannot tell you

  • State averages can mask substantial differences between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas.
  • The national-average basket may not match a particular household's spending mix, especially for housing or services.
  • Regional Price Parities are price-level measures. They do not include a household's income, taxes, commute, or personal housing arrangement.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities · 2024 PlainCost displays the 2024 state reference-year values; data-layer vintage 2026-08-11.