What a dollar buys, state by state
Regional price parities measure what a dollar buys in one place against the national average of 100. California is the most expensive at 110.7 and Arkansas the least at 86.9. Housing carries most of that difference.
Where a wage actually goes furthest
The interesting question is not which state is cheap, it is where a salary buys the most. Cheap states usually pay less; expensive states usually pay more. Dividing the median wage by the local price parity puts every state on the same footing, and the answer is not the one either a wage table or a cost of living table gives on its own.
| # | State | Median wage | Price level | Worth nationally |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | $88,000 | 109.9 | $80,073 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $62,270 | 105.8 | $58,856 |
| 3 | Alaska | $59,400 | 102.4 | $58,008 |
| 4 | Washington | $61,590 | 107.0 | $57,561 |
| 5 | North Dakota | $50,320 | 89.0 | $56,539 |
| 6 | Colorado | $58,210 | 103.1 | $56,460 |
| 7 | Connecticut | $58,400 | 103.6 | $56,371 |
| 8 | Maryland | $58,050 | 105.0 | $55,286 |
| 9 | Minnesota | $53,810 | 98.6 | $54,574 |
| 10 | Iowa | $47,670 | 87.8 | $54,294 |
| 11 | New York | $58,560 | 107.9 | $54,272 |
| 12 | Vermont | $52,410 | 98.0 | $53,480 |
| 13 | Nebraska | $47,990 | 90.1 | $53,263 |
| 14 | Wyoming | $49,160 | 92.7 | $53,031 |
| 15 | Rhode Island | $54,040 | 102.3 | $52,825 |
| 16 | New Jersey | $57,230 | 108.8 | $52,601 |
| 17 | Virginia | $53,020 | 101.1 | $52,443 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | $48,930 | 94.1 | $51,998 |
| 19 | Kansas | $46,850 | 90.1 | $51,998 |
| 20 | Ohio | $48,060 | 92.8 | $51,789 |
| 21 | Oregon | $53,390 | 103.4 | $51,634 |
| 22 | South Dakota | $45,620 | 88.6 | $51,490 |
| 23 | California | $56,940 | 110.7 | $51,436 |
| 24 | Delaware | $51,030 | 99.8 | $51,132 |
| 25 | Missouri | $46,390 | 90.8 | $51,090 |
| 26 | Maine | $49,440 | 97.1 | $50,917 |
| 27 | Kentucky | $45,740 | 90.2 | $50,710 |
| 28 | New Hampshire | $52,610 | 104.2 | $50,489 |
| 29 | Indiana | $46,930 | 93.3 | $50,300 |
| 30 | Michigan | $48,300 | 96.2 | $50,208 |
| 31 | Tennessee | $46,120 | 91.9 | $50,185 |
| 32 | Montana | $47,360 | 94.6 | $50,063 |
| 33 | Oklahoma | $43,950 | 87.8 | $50,057 |
| 34 | Illinois | $50,000 | 100.0 | $50,000 |
| 35 | North Carolina | $46,950 | 94.3 | $49,788 |
| 36 | New Mexico | $45,870 | 92.2 | $49,751 |
| 37 | Pennsylvania | $48,550 | 97.6 | $49,744 |
| 38 | Louisiana | $43,770 | 88.2 | $49,626 |
| 39 | Alabama | $43,830 | 88.8 | $49,358 |
| 40 | Utah | $48,600 | 98.9 | $49,141 |
| 41 | Texas | $47,500 | 97.1 | $48,919 |
| 42 | Georgia | $47,020 | 96.3 | $48,827 |
| 43 | Idaho | $46,470 | 95.5 | $48,660 |
| 44 | Arizona | $48,810 | 100.7 | $48,471 |
| 45 | Hawaii | $53,260 | 110.0 | $48,418 |
| 46 | West Virginia | $43,320 | 89.5 | $48,402 |
| 47 | South Carolina | $44,760 | 93.7 | $47,769 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $41,020 | 86.9 | $47,204 |
| 49 | Nevada | $46,440 | 100.0 | $46,440 |
| 50 | Florida | $46,860 | 103.4 | $45,319 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $39,070 | 87.0 | $44,908 |
Wage figures from the BLS occupational survey, price parities from U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, SARPP, 2024.
Every state by price level
| # | State | All items | Goods | Rents | Services | Housing gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 110.7 | 106.1 | 154.3 | 158.9 | + 43.6 |
| 2 | Hawaii | 110.0 | 111.6 | 125.3 | 190.2 | + 15.3 |
| 3 | District of Columbia | 109.9 | 106.5 | 155.0 | 112.8 | + 45.1 |
| 4 | New Jersey | 108.8 | 107.1 | 134.3 | 114.2 | + 25.5 |
| 5 | New York | 107.9 | 107.3 | 122.2 | 134.4 | + 14.3 |
| 6 | Washington | 107.0 | 104.4 | 126.0 | 92.9 | + 19 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | 105.8 | 98.8 | 128.1 | 152.1 | + 22.3 |
| 8 | Maryland | 105.0 | 102.5 | 121.1 | 110.9 | + 16.1 |
| 9 | New Hampshire | 104.2 | 98.6 | 114.9 | 133.7 | + 10.7 |
| 10 | Connecticut | 103.6 | 97.3 | 117.0 | 146.5 | + 13.4 |
| 11 | Florida | 103.4 | 98.1 | 122.1 | 90.1 | + 18.7 |
| 12 | Oregon | 103.4 | 105.3 | 108.6 | 107.0 | + 5.2 |
| 13 | Colorado | 103.1 | 98.7 | 127.4 | 85.0 | + 24.3 |
| 14 | Alaska | 102.4 | 106.3 | 93.8 | 119.0 | -8.6 |
| 15 | Rhode Island | 102.3 | 97.2 | 105.6 | 146.7 | + 3.3 |
| 16 | Virginia | 101.1 | 100.4 | 106.8 | 92.2 | + 5.7 |
| 17 | Arizona | 100.7 | 95.4 | 106.8 | 92.3 | + 6.1 |
| 18 | Illinois | 100.0 | 103.8 | 93.9 | 85.0 | -6.1 |
| 19 | Nevada | 100.0 | 96.3 | 114.1 | 90.5 | + 14.1 |
| 20 | Delaware | 99.8 | 96.2 | 102.0 | 103.8 | + 2.2 |
| 21 | Utah | 98.9 | 96.4 | 107.8 | 78.7 | + 8.9 |
| 22 | Minnesota | 98.6 | 100.5 | 91.3 | 90.8 | -7.3 |
| 23 | Vermont | 98.0 | 97.3 | 86.5 | 125.8 | -11.5 |
| 24 | Pennsylvania | 97.6 | 99.4 | 85.1 | 109.3 | -12.5 |
| 25 | Maine | 97.1 | 97.2 | 78.9 | 135.2 | -18.2 |
| 26 | Texas | 97.1 | 98.1 | 96.5 | 87.5 | -0.6 |
| 27 | Georgia | 96.3 | 98.9 | 88.7 | 92.8 | -7.6 |
| 28 | Michigan | 96.2 | 96.0 | 82.3 | 100.2 | -13.9 |
| 29 | Idaho | 95.5 | 96.3 | 90.0 | 70.4 | -5.5 |
| 30 | Montana | 94.6 | 96.0 | 84.6 | 72.3 | -10 |
| 31 | North Carolina | 94.3 | 96.6 | 81.4 | 88.6 | -12.9 |
| 32 | Wisconsin | 94.1 | 94.3 | 79.3 | 89.9 | -14.8 |
| 33 | South Carolina | 93.7 | 96.3 | 80.5 | 88.3 | -13.2 |
| 34 | Indiana | 93.3 | 95.5 | 73.9 | 85.5 | -19.4 |
| 35 | Ohio | 92.8 | 93.7 | 73.0 | 95.8 | -19.8 |
| 36 | Wyoming | 92.7 | 95.4 | 71.1 | 78.4 | -21.6 |
| 37 | New Mexico | 92.2 | 96.1 | 73.6 | 77.9 | -18.6 |
| 38 | Tennessee | 91.9 | 96.2 | 79.1 | 72.1 | -12.8 |
| 39 | Missouri | 90.8 | 96.3 | 69.9 | 79.4 | -20.9 |
| 40 | Kentucky | 90.2 | 96.0 | 64.3 | 75.3 | -25.9 |
| 41 | Kansas | 90.1 | 94.0 | 71.2 | 88.4 | -18.9 |
| 42 | Nebraska | 90.1 | 94.1 | 75.2 | 75.6 | -14.9 |
| 43 | West Virginia | 89.5 | 96.5 | 54.2 | 92.2 | -35.3 |
| 44 | North Dakota | 89.0 | 95.7 | 71.4 | 73.7 | -17.6 |
| 45 | Alabama | 88.8 | 96.4 | 61.8 | 84.6 | -27 |
| 46 | South Dakota | 88.6 | 95.5 | 67.6 | 79.7 | -21 |
| 47 | Louisiana | 88.2 | 93.7 | 63.1 | 71.5 | -25.1 |
| 48 | Iowa | 87.8 | 93.7 | 65.3 | 83.3 | -22.5 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | 87.8 | 93.8 | 62.8 | 73.9 | -25 |
| 50 | Mississippi | 87.0 | 96.2 | 56.5 | 78.4 | -30.5 |
| 51 | Arkansas | 86.9 | 93.6 | 58.2 | 74.7 | -28.7 |
Housing gap is how far rents sit from the state's own overall level, which shows whether housing is what makes a state expensive. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, SARPP, 2024. Retrieved 2026-09-09.
Metro areas at the extremes
Most expensive
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 115.6
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 114.2
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 113.6
- Napa 112.6
- New York-Newark-Jersey City 112.6
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 111.9
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 111.1
- Urban Honolulu 111.0
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura 110.5
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 110.4
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest state to live in?
By overall price level, Arkansas at 86.9 against a national 100, with rents at 58.2. Cheap is not the same as affordable, though: wages are usually lower too. The table further down ranks states by what a median wage actually buys after prices.
What is the most expensive state?
California, at 110.7. Its rents sit at 154.3, which is where nearly all of the difference comes from.
Where does a salary go furthest?
District of Columbia. Its median wage of $88,000 buys what $80,073 buys nationally. States that pay the highest nominal wages rarely top this list, because they charge for it in housing.
How is this measured?
The Bureau of Economic Analysis collects prices for the same basket of goods, rents and services across regions and expresses each area against the national average. It uses the same underlying price collection as the consumer price index, but compares places rather than time periods. It is the only official measure of cost of living differences between American states.