West Virginia and Kansas had the lowest cost of living across all U.S. states, with composite costs being half of those found in Hawaii. This was according to a composite index that compares prices for various goods and services on a state-by-state basis. In West Virginia, the cost of living index amounted to **** — well below the national benchmark of 100. Virginia— which had an index value of ***** — was only slightly above that benchmark. Expensive places to live included Hawaii, Massachusetts, and California. Housing costs in the U.S. Housing is usually the highest expense in a household’s budget. In 2023, the average house sold for approximately ******* U.S. dollars, but house prices in the Northeast and West regions were significantly higher. Conversely, the South had some of the least expensive housing. In West Virginia, Mississippi, and Louisiana, the median price of the typical single-family home was less than ******* U.S. dollars. That makes living expenses in these states significantly lower than in states such as Hawaii and California, where housing is much pricier. What other expenses affect the cost of living? Utility costs such as electricity, natural gas, water, and internet also influence the cost of living. In Alaska, Hawaii, and Connecticut, the average monthly utility cost exceeded *** U.S. dollars. That was because of the significantly higher prices for electricity and natural gas in these states.

This statistic shows the best states to make living in the United States in 2019. In 2019, Wyoming was ranked as the best state to make a living in the United States, with the cost of living index at 90.5 value and the median income of 40,240 U.S. dollars.

Quality of life is a measure of comfort, health, and happiness by a person or a group of people. Quality of life is determined by both material factors, such as income and housing, and broader considerations like health, education, and freedom. Each year, US & World News releases its “Best States to Live in” report, which ranks states on the quality of life each state provides its residents. In order to determine rankings, U.S. News & World Report considers a wide range of factors, including healthcare, education, economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, crime and corrections, and the natural environment. More information on these categories and what is measured in each can be found below:

Healthcare includes access, quality, and affordability of healthcare, as well as health measurements, such as obesity rates and rates of smoking. Education measures how well public schools perform in terms of testing and graduation rates, as well as tuition costs associated with higher education and college debt load. Economy looks at GDP growth, migration to the state, and new business. Infrastructure includes transportation availability, road quality, communications, and internet access. Opportunity includes poverty rates, cost of living, housing costs and gender and racial equality. Fiscal Stability considers the health of the government's finances, including how well the state balances its budget. Crime and Corrections ranks a state’s public safety and measures prison systems and their populations. Natural Environment looks at the quality of air and water and exposure to pollution.

Of the most populous cities in the U.S., San Jose, California had the highest annual income requirement at 288,953 U.S. dollars annually for homeowners to have an affordable and comfortable life in 2024. This can be compared to Houston, Texas, where homeowners needed an annual income of 87,991 U.S. dollars in 2024.

The average for 2021 based on 165 countries was 79.81 index points. The highest value was in Bermuda: 212.7 index points and the lowest value was in Syria: 33.25 index points. The indicator is available from 2017 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In the United States, Hawaii was the state with the most expensive housing, with the typical value of single-family homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range exceeding 981,000 U.S. dollars. Unsurprisingly, Hawaii also ranked top as the state with the highest cost of living. Meanwhile, a property was the least expensive in West Virginia, where it cost under 167,000 U.S. dollars to buy the typical single-family home. Single-family home prices increased across most states in the United States between December 2023 and December 2024, except in Louisiana, Florida, and the District of Colombia. According to the Federal Housing Association, house appreciation in 13 states exceeded nine percent in 2023.

As of September 2024, Mumbai had the highest cost of living among other cities in the country, with an index value of 26.5. Gurgaon, a satellite city of Delhi and part of the National Capital Region (NCR) followed it with an index value of 25.1.  What is cost of living? The cost of living varies depending on geographical regions and factors that affect the cost of living in an area include housing, food, utilities, clothing, childcare, and fuel among others. The cost of living is calculated based on different measures such as the consumer price index (CPI), living cost indexes, and wage price index. CPI refers to the change in the value of consumer goods and services. The wage price index, on the other hand, measures the change in labor services prices due to market pressures. Lastly, the living cost indexes calculate the impact of changing costs on different households. The relationship between wages and costs determines affordability and shifts in the cost of living. Mumbai tops the list Mumbai usually tops the list of most expensive cities in India. As the financial and entertainment hub of the country, Mumbai offers wide opportunities and attracts talent from all over the country. It is the second-largest city in India and has one of the most expensive real estates in the world.

Quality of Life Index (higher is better) is an estimation of overall quality of life by using an empirical formula which takes into account purchasing power index (higher is better), pollution index (lower is better), house price to income ratio (lower is better), cost of living index (lower is better), safety index (higher is better), health care index (higher is better), traffic commute time index (lower is better) and climate index (higher is better).

Current formula (written in Java programming language):

index.main = Math.max(0, 100 + purchasingPowerInclRentIndex / 2.5 - (housePriceToIncomeRatio * 1.0) - costOfLivingIndex / 10 + safetyIndex / 2.0 + healthIndex / 2.5 - trafficTimeIndex / 2.0 - pollutionIndex * 2.0 / 3.0 + climateIndex / 3.0);

For details how purchasing power (including rent) index, pollution index, property price to income ratios, cost of living index, safety index, climate index, health index and traffic index are calculated please look up their respective pages.

Formulas used in the past

Formula used between June 2017 and Decembar 2017

We decided to decrease weight from costOfLivingIndex in this formula:

index.main = Math.max(0, 100 + purchasingPowerInclRentIndex / 2.5 - (housePriceToIncomeRatio * 1.0) - costOfLivingIndex / 5 + safetyIndex / 2.0 + healthIndex / 2.5 - trafficTimeIndex / 2.0 - pollutionIndex * 2.0 / 3.0 + climateIndex / 3.0);

The World Happiness 2017, which ranks 155 countries by their happiness levels, was released at the United Nations at an event celebrating International Day of Happiness on March 20th. The report continues to gain global recognition as governments, organizations and civil society increasingly use happiness indicators to inform their policy-making decisions. Leading experts across fields – economics, psychology, survey analysis, national statistics, health, public policy and more – describe how measurements of well-being can be used effectively to assess the progress of nations. The reports review the state of happiness in the world today and show how the new science of happiness explains personal and national variations in happiness.

The scores are based on answers to the main life evaluation question asked in the poll. This question, known as the Cantril ladder, asks respondents to think of a ladder with the best possible life for them being a 10 and the worst possible life being a 0 and to rate their own current lives on that scale. The scores are from nationally representative samples for 2017 and use the Gallup weights to make the estimates representative. The columns following the happiness score estimate the extent to which each of six factors – economic production, social support, life expectancy, freedom, absence of corruption, and generosity – contribute to making life evaluations higher in each country than they are in Dystopia, a hypothetical country that has values equal to the world’s lowest national averages for each of the six factors. They have no impact on the total score reported for each country, but they do explain why some countries rank higher than others.

Quality of life index, link: https://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/indices_explained.jsp

Happiness store, link: https://www.kaggle.com/unsdsn/world-happiness/home

According to a recent study, Colombia had the lowest monthly cost of living in Latin America with 546 U.S. dollars needed for basic living. In contrast, four countries had a cost of living above one thousand dollars, Costa Rica, Chile, Panama and Uruguay. In 2022, the highest minimum wage in the region was recorded by Ecuador with 425 dollars per month.

Can Latin Americans survive on a minimum wage? Even if most countries in Latin America have instated laws to guarantee citizens a basic income, these minimum standards are often not enough to meet household needs. For instance, it was estimated that almost 22 million people in Mexico lacked basic housing services. Salary levels also vary greatly among Latin American economies. In 2022, the average net monthly salary in Brazil was lower than Ecuador's minimum wage.

What can a minimum wage afford in Latin America? Latin American real wages have generally risen in the past decade. However, consumers in this region still struggle to afford non-basic goods, such as tech products. Recent estimates reveal that, in order to buy an iPhone, Brazilian residents would have to work more than two months to be able to pay for it. A gaming console, on the other hand, could easily cost a Latin American worker several minimum wages.

According to a 2023 survey, young adults in the United States were divided when it came to important political issues such as border security, gun violence prevention, and addressing climate change. However, the majority of young Americans considered the cost of living and inflation a top political issue, regardless of their race and ethnicity.

In 2023, the real median household income in the state of Alabama was 60,660 U.S. dollars. The state with the highest median household income was Massachusetts, which was 106,500 U.S. dollars in 2023. The average median household income in the United States was at 80,610 U.S. dollars.

Housing and residential status. Residential area and social structure. Mobility and economic situation. Employment. Election decision and participation.

Topics: 1. Housing and housing status: size of the place of residence (degree of urbanisation); location; duration of residence; satisfaction with the place of residence; length of residence in the apartment; number of moves in the last ten years; previous place of residence; residential status of the previous apartment; living space of the previous apartment; reasons for moving; main reason for moving; residential status of the current apartment; one or more households in the house; monthly contribution costs; type of purchase of house/flat; construction of the house/flat by public subsidies; amount of monthly mortgage repayment and interest; amount of monthly ancillary costs; amount of heating costs in the last calendar year; amount of maintenance costs in the last calendar year; monthly burden subsidy received from the state; housing entitlement certificate required; owner of the flat; rent amount; rent including costs for heating and hot water; amount of lump sum for heating and hot water (or. for heating and hot water separately); average costs for heating and hot water and payment period; rent includes modernisation charge; amount of modernisation charge in total or per sqm; type of modernisation measures for which a modernisation charge is paid; adequacy of rental costs; receipt of housing benefit; amount of monthly housing charge; living space; number of rooms; assessment of apartment size; apartment furnishing; apartment equipment meets needs; preferred living standard; year of construction of the house; assessment of the structural condition of the house; satisfaction with the apartment.

1. Residential area and social structure: satisfaction with the immediate residential environment; satisfaction with the environmental conditions at the place of residence; walking distance to selected facilities (e.g. public transport stops, shopping facilities, doctors, kindergarten, primary school, etc.); social structure: social differences in the immediate living environment; relationship with neighbours; satisfaction with the neighbourhood; development of personal living situation; greatest loss after possible relocation (local connection); preferred home; preferred residential area; foreigners in the residential environment; proportion of foreigners in the residential area compared to other residential areas; foreigners who have been living in the residential area or have recently moved in; newly arrived foreigners are predominantly ethnic Germans, refugees or have been living in Germany for some time; relationship between foreigners and Germans in the residential environment; attitude towards the spatial separation of Germans and foreigners; personal contacts with foreigners or Germans in the family, at work, in the neighbourhood or among friends and acquaintances; assessment of assistance for foreigners (simple entry aids, more extensive integration measures or renouncement of such assistance).

2. Mobility: intention to move; reasons for moving; most important reason for moving; preference for moving (target area); plans for the current apartment within the next two years or changes already carried out in the last two years (new furnish, renovate, modernise, add-on or conversion); classification on a ladder best form of living / worst imaginable apartment (own apartment, in comparison own apartment 5 years ago, best accessible apartment, justly entitled apartment, average apartment of friends and acquaintances, apartment of an average German citizen); assessment of the current personal economic situation.

3. Employment: employment status; job security; length of working distance; longest accepted working distance in minutes; willingness to commute.

4. Election decision and participation: eligibility to vote in the last federal election; participation in the last federal election and election decision (second vote); party preference (Sunday question) or party most likely to be considered.

Demography: sex; age (month of birth and year of birth); highest school leaving certificate or targeted school leaving certificate; age at school leaving certificate; vocational education or training certificate; current or former employment; full-time or part-time employment; current or last professional position; current or last professional activity; marital status; cohabitation with a partner; own children; self-classification of class; denomination; closeness to the church; household size; net income of the respondent; number of children in the household and age of these children; number of persons in the household aged 18 years and older; number of persons in the household who contribute to the household income; number of persons employed in the household; household net income; place of residence before 1989; car ownership; German citizenship; telephone...

Out of all 50 states, New York had the highest per-capita real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, at 90,730 U.S. dollars, followed closely by Massachusetts. Mississippi had the lowest per-capita real GDP, at 39,102 U.S. dollars. While not a state, the District of Columbia had a per capita GDP of more than 214,000 U.S. dollars. What is real GDP? A country’s real GDP is a measure that shows the value of the goods and services produced by an economy and is adjusted for inflation. The real GDP of a country helps economists to see the health of a country’s economy and its standard of living. Downturns in GDP growth can indicate financial difficulties, such as the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, when the U.S. GDP decreased by 2.5 percent. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on U.S. GDP, shrinking the economy 2.8 percent. The U.S. economy rebounded in 2021, however, growing by nearly six percent. Why real GDP per capita matters Real GDP per capita takes the GDP of a country, state, or metropolitan area and divides it by the number of people in that area. Some argue that per-capita GDP is more important than the GDP of a country, as it is a good indicator of whether or not the country’s population is getting wealthier, thus increasing the standard of living in that area. The best measure of standard of living when comparing across countries is thought to be GDP per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) which uses the prices of specific goods to compare the absolute purchasing power of a countries currency.

Housing and residential status. Residential area and social structure. Mobility and economic situation. Employment. Election decision and participation.

Topics: 1. Housing and housing status: size of the place of residence (degree of urbanisation); location; duration of residence; satisfaction with the place of residence; length of residence in the apartment; number of moves in the last ten years; previous place of residence; residential status of the previous apartment; living space of the previous apartment; reasons for moving; main reason for moving; residential status of the current apartment; one or more households in the house; monthly contribution costs; type of purchase of house/flat; construction of the house/flat by public subsidies; amount of monthly mortgage repayment and interest; amount of monthly ancillary costs; amount of heating costs in the last calendar year; amount of maintenance costs in the last calendar year; monthly burden subsidy received from the state; housing entitlement certificate required; owner of the flat; rent amount; rent including costs for heating and hot water; amount of lump sum for heating and hot water (or. for heating and hot water separately); average costs for heating and hot water and payment period; rent includes modernisation charge; amount of modernisation charge in total or per sqm; type of modernisation measures for which a modernisation charge is paid; adequacy of rental costs; receipt of housing benefit; amount of monthly housing charge; living space; number of rooms; assessment of apartment size; apartment furnishing; apartment equipment meets needs; preferred living standard; year of construction of the house; assessment of the structural condition of the house; satisfaction with the apartment.

1. Residential area and social structure: satisfaction with the immediate residential environment; satisfaction with the environmental conditions at the place of residence; walking distance to selected facilities (e.g. public transport stops, shopping facilities, doctors, kindergarten, primary school, etc.); social structure: social differences in the immediate living environment; relationship with neighbours; satisfaction with the neighbourhood; development of personal living situation; greatest loss after possible relocation (local connection); preferred home; preferred residential area; foreigners in the residential environment; proportion of foreigners in the residential area compared to other residential areas; foreigners who have been living in the residential area or have recently moved in; newly arrived foreigners are predominantly ethnic Germans, refugees or have been living in Germany for some time; relationship between foreigners and Germans in the residential environment; attitude towards the spatial separation of Germans and foreigners; personal contacts with foreigners or Germans in the family, at work, in the neighbourhood or among friends and acquaintances; assessment of assistance for foreigners (simple entry aids, more extensive integration measures or renouncement of such assistance).

2. Mobility: intention to move; reasons for moving; most important reason for moving; preference for moving (target area); plans for the current apartment within the next two years or changes already carried out in the last two years (new furnish, renovate, modernise, add-on or conversion); classification on a ladder best form of living / worst imaginable apartment (own apartment, in comparison own apartment 5 years ago, best accessible apartment, justly entitled apartment, average apartment of friends and acquaintances, apartment of an average German citizen); assessment of the current personal economic situation.

3. Employment: employment status; job security; length of working distance; longest accepted working distance in minutes; willingness to commute.

4. Election decision and participation: eligibility to vote in the last federal election; participation in the last federal election and election decision (second vote); party preference (Sunday question) or party most likely to be considered.

Demography: sex; age (month of birth and year of birth); highest school leaving certificate or targeted school leaving certificate; age at school leaving certificate; vocational education or training certificate; current or former employment; full-time or part-time employment; current or last professional position; current or last professional activity; marital status; cohab...

Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia, ranked as the most expensive city to live in Africa as of 2024, considering consumer goods prices. The Ethiopian capital obtained an index score of 46.7, followed by Harare, in Zimbabwe, with 37.4. Morocco and South Africa were the countries with the most representatives among the 15 cities with the highest cost of living in Africa.

Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2024. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 116.2 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.

In 2023, the U.S. Consumer Price Index was 309.42, and is projected to increase to 352.27 by 2029. The base period was 1982-84. The monthly CPI for all urban consumers in the U.S. can be accessed here. After a time of high inflation, the U.S. inflation rateis projected fall to two percent by 2027. United States Consumer Price Index ForecastIt is projected that the CPI will continue to rise year over year, reaching 325.6 in 2027. The Consumer Price Index of all urban consumers in previous years was lower, and has risen every year since 1992, except in 2009, when the CPI went from 215.30 in 2008 to 214.54 in 2009. The monthly unadjusted Consumer Price Index was 296.17 for the month of August in 2022. The U.S. CPI measures changes in the price of consumer goods and services purchased by households and is thought to reflect inflation in the U.S. as well as the health of the economy. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates the CPI and defines it as, "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services." The BLS records the price of thousands of goods and services month by month. They consider goods and services within eight main categories: food and beverage, housing, apparel, transportation, medical care, recreation, education, and other goods and services. They aggregate the data collected in order to compare how much it would cost a consumer to buy the same market basket of goods and services within one month or one year compared with the previous month or year. Given that the CPI is used to calculate U.S. inflation, the CPI influences the annual adjustments of many financial institutions in the United States, both private and public. Wages, social security payments, and pensions are all affected by the CPI.

In 2022, New Orleans, LA, Birmingham, AL, and Louisville, KY, were the best cities for elderly Americans to retire in. The source considered various metrics, including the share of population over 60 years, the cost of living, cost, and the cost and quality of healthcare. The score represents the combined weighted average of the different metrics, after normalizing and grading them on a 100-point scale. New Orleans, LA, received the highest score of 100, while Minneapolis, MN, the 50th city in the ranking, received an index score of 71.26.

The gross domestic product (GDP) of California was about 3.23 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023, meaning that it contributed the most out of any state to the country’s GDP in that year. In contrast, Vermont had the lowest GDP in the United States, with 35.07 billion U.S. dollars. What is GDP? Gross domestic product, or GDP, is the total monetary value of all goods and services produced by an economy within a certain time period. GDP is used by economists to determine the economic health of an area, as well as to determine the size of the economy. GDP can be determined for countries, states and provinces, and metropolitan areas. While GDP is a good measure of the absolute size of a country's economy and economic activity, it does account for many other factors, making it a poor indicator for measuring the cost or standard of living in a country, or for making cross-country comparisons. GDP of the United States The United States has the largest gross domestic product in the world as of 2023, with China, Japan, Germany, and India rounding out the top five. The GDP of the United States has almost quadrupled since 1990, when it was about 5.9 trillion U.S. dollars, to about 25.46 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022.

As of 2022, Israel had the highest price level index among listed countries, amounting to 138, with 100 being the average of OECD countries. Switzerland and Iceland followed on the places behind. On the other hand, Turkey and India had the lowest price levels compared to the OECD average. This price index shows differences in price levels in different countries. Another very popular index indicating the value of money is the Big Mac index, showing how much a Big Mac costs in different countries. This list was also topped by Switzerland in 2023.