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.

Single Family Home Prices in the United States increased to 422800 USD in May from 414000 USD in April of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Existing Single Family Home Prices- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Key information about House Prices Growth

• US house prices grew 5.2% YoY in Dec 2024, following an increase of 5.4% YoY in the previous quarter.
• YoY growth data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1992 to Dec 2024, with an average growth rate of 5.4%.
• House price data reached an all-time high of 17.7% in Sep 2021 and a record low of -12.4% in Dec 2008.

The statistic represents the states with the lowest average retail electricity prices to residential customers in the United States as of December 2019. Arkansas had an average residential electricity price of 9.84 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour.

A ranking of the global electricity prices in select countries can be found here.

Average House Prices in the United States increased to 522200 USD in May from 511200 USD in April of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States New Home Average Sales Price.

Graph and download economic data for Real Residential Property Prices for United States (QUSR368BIS) from Q1 1971 to Q4 2024 about residential, housing, real, price, and USA.

A comprehensive dataset of average residential, commercial, and combined electricity rates in cents per kWh for all 50 U.S. states.

Residential Property Prices in the United States increased 2.50 percent in March of 2025 over the same month in the previous year. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Residential Property Prices.

A table listing the average electricity rates (kWh) of all 50 U.S. states as of March 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Real Residential Property Prices for United States (QUSR628BIS) from Q1 1970 to Q1 2025 about residential, HPI, housing, real, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

As of November 2021, the cheapest city to travel to in North America was Oaxaca de Juarez, Mexico, with an average daily price of 30.60 U.S. dollars per person. According to the source, the top five cheapest cities for travelers were all based in Mexico. Meanwhile, the cheapest city for travel in the United States was Williamsburg, at an average of 89.93 U.S. dollars a day.

Gasoline Prices in the United States remained unchanged at 0.83 USD/Liter in June. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Gasoline Prices - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

The average for 2021 based on 20 countries was 147.33 index points. The highest value was in Aruba: 240.01 index points and the lowest value was in Nicaragua: 89.59 index points. The indicator is available from 2017 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2024, the western island state of Hawaii offered the most affordable homeowners' insurance in the United States. Homeowners in Hawaii paid an annual average of 515 U.S. dollars for insurance coverage. On the other hand, Oklahoma, Texas, and Nebraska were among the least affordable states for homeowners insurance. Who are the leading providers of homeowners insurance in the United States? State Farm, headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, maintained its position as a market leader in home insurance due to its extensive network of agents, strong financial stability, and consistently high customer satisfaction ratings. Other leading providers of homeowners insurance in the United States included Allstate Corporation and Liberty Mutual. These companies dominate the market by offering comprehensive coverage options, competitive pricing, and reliable claims services, making them the preferred choice for millions of homeowners. How has U.S. homeownership changed since the financial crisis? Since the global financial crisis, the homeownership rate in the United States has seen a significant decline. Before the crisis, homeownership peaked at approximately 69 percent in the mid-2000s. Following the downturn, it dropped significantly, reaching lows around 64 percent by the mid-2010s. In recent years, homeownership has seen a modest recovery, but levels remain below the pre-crisis peak, as rising costs and market constraints continue to pose challenges for many.

Statistics illustrates prices of coffee and tea in the United States from 2013 to 2024.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Home Prices (EC7)

FULL MEASURE NAME Home Prices

LAST UPDATED August 2019

DESCRIPTION Home prices refer to the cost of purchasing one’s own house or condominium. While a significant share of residents may choose to rent, home prices represent a primary driver of housing affordability in a given region, county or city.

DATA SOURCE Zillow Median Sale Price (1997-2018) http://www.zillow.com/research/data/

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index All Urban Consumers Data Table (1997-2018; specific to each metro area) http://data.bls.gov

CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Median housing price estimates for the region, counties, cities, and zip code come from analysis of individual home sales by Zillow. The median sale price is the price separating the higher half of the sales from the lower half. In other words, 50 percent of home sales are below or above the median value. Zillow defines all homes as single-family residential, condominium, and co-operative homes with a county record. Single-family residences are detached, which means the home is an individual structure with its own lot. Condominiums are units that you own in a multi-unit complex, such as an apartment building. Co-operative homes are slightly different from condominiums where the homeowners own shares in the corporation that owns the building, not the actual units themselves.

For metropolitan area comparison values, the Bay Area metro area’s median home sale price is the population-weighted average of the nine counties’ median home prices. Home sales prices are not reliably available for Houston, because Texas is a non-disclosure state. For more information on non-disclosure states, see: http://www.zillow.com/blog/chronicles-of-data-collection-ii-non-disclosure-states-3783/

Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how home prices have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of CPI itself.

Montreal, Canada was the most affordable cities for backpackers in North America as of January 2025. The city had an average cost of 82.69 U.S. dollars per day. This figure includes a bunk at a hostel, three budget meals, two public transportation rides, one paid cultural attraction and three cheap beers (as an “entertainment fund”).

This dataset shows the Gross Domestic Product per capita by state for year 2005 - 2022 at current prices. Footnote: For base year 2005, values for year 2012 are estimate and values for year 2013 are preliminary. For base year 2010, values for year 2016 are estimate and values for year 2017 are preliminary. For base year 2015, values for year 2021 are estimate and values for year 2022 are preliminary. Source: Department of Statistics Malaysia.

United States New 1 Family Houses Sold: By Sales Prices: USD 200000 to 299999 data was reported at 15.000 Unit th in Sep 2018. This stayed constant from the previous number of 15.000 Unit th for Aug 2018. United States New 1 Family Houses Sold: By Sales Prices: USD 200000 to 299999 data is updated monthly, averaging 15.000 Unit th from Jan 2002 (Median) to Sep 2018, with 201 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 33.000 Unit th in Mar 2005 and a record low of 5.000 Unit th in Nov 2010. United States New 1 Family Houses Sold: By Sales Prices: USD 200000 to 299999 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by US Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.EB001: New One Family House Unit: Sold and For Sale.

The average for 2021 based on 11 countries was 94.731 index points. The highest value was in Uruguay: 137.46 index points and the lowest value was in Bolivia: 68.57 index points. The indicator is available from 2017 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.