The US Family Budget Dataset provides insights into the cost of living in different US counties based on the Family Budget Calculator by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

This dataset offers community-specific estimates for ten family types, including one or two adults with zero to four children, in all 1877 counties and metro areas across the United States.

Interesting Task Ideas:

1. See how family budgets compare to the federal poverty line and the Supplemental Poverty Measure in different counties.
2. Look into the money challenges faced by different types of families using the budgets provided.
3. Find out which counties have the most affordable places to live, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, and other things people need.
4. Explore how the average income of families relates to the overall cost of living in different counties.
5. Investigate how family size affects the estimated budget and find counties where bigger families have higher costs.
6. Create visuals showing how the cost of living varies across different states and big cities.
7. Check whether specific counties are affordable for families of different sizes and types.
8. Use the dataset to compare living standards and economic security in different US counties.

If you find this dataset valuable, don't forget to hit the upvote button! 😊💝

Checkout my other datasets

Employment-to-Population Ratio for USA

Productivity and Hourly Compensation

130K Kindle Books

900K TMDb Movies

USA Unemployment Rates by Demographics & Race

Photo by Alev Takil on Unsplash

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.

Thumbnail Image by macrovector_official on Freepik

Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) derives the cost of living index for each state by averaging the indices of participating cities and metropolitan areas in that state.

In general, the most expensive areas to live were Hawaii, Alaska, the Northeast, and the West Coast. The least expensive areas were the Midwest and Southern states.

Cities across the nation participate in the Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) survey on a volunteer basis. Price information in the survey is governed by C2ER collection guidelines which strive for uniformity.

The entries for Ontario, British Columbia, and Remote were added manually for my use case.

In 2025, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for medical professional services in the United States was at 432.46, compared to the period from 1982 to 1984 (=100). The CPI for hospital services was at 1,102.12.

The Consumer Sentiment Index in the United States stood at 51 in November 2025. This reflected a drop of 2.6 point from the previous survey. Furthermore, this was its lowest level measured since June 2022. The index is normalized to a value of 100 in December 1964 and based on a monthly survey of consumers, conducted in the continental United States. It consists of about 50 core questions which cover consumers' assessments of their personal financial situation, their buying attitudes and overall economic conditions.

This collection contains data obtained from families of wage earners or salaried workers in industrial locales scattered throughout the United States. The purpose of the survey was to estimate the cost of living of a "typical" American family. The completed questionnaires contain information about income sources and family expenditures including specific quantities and costs of food, housing, clothing, fuel, furniture, and miscellaneous household items for the calendar year. Demographic characteristics recorded for each household member include relationship to head, age, sex, occupation, weeks spent in the household and employed, wage rate, and total earnings.

Cost of Living Index by Country, 2024 Mid Year data Data scraped from Numbeo: www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp All credits to Numbeo: www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/

An index of 100 reflects the same living cost as in New York City, United States. As of 2024 Mid Year data, in NYC, A family of four estimated monthly costs are $6,074.40 without rent. A single person's estimated monthly costs are $1,640.90 without rent.

Of the most populous cities in the U.S., San Jose, California had the highest annual income requirement at ******* 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 ****** U.S. dollars in 2024.

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Mean Real Household Wages Adjusted by Cost of Living for St. Louis city, MO (MWACL29510) from 2009 to 2023 about St. Louis City, MO; St. Louis; adjusted; MO; average; wages; real; and USA.

Detailed cost of living comparison between United States and United States

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Mean Real Household Wages Adjusted by Cost of Living for Salt Lake County, UT (MWACL49035) from 2009 to 2023 about Salt Lake County, UT; Salt Lake City; UT; adjusted; average; wages; real; and USA.

Detailed cost of living comparison between United States and Greece

"Cost of living and purchasing power related to average income

We adjusted the average cost of living inside the USA (based on 2021 and 2022) to an index of 100. All other countries are related to this index. Therefore with an index of e.g. 80, the usual expenses in another country are 20% less then in the United States.

The monthly income (please do not confuse this with a wage or salary) is calculated from the gross national income per capita.

The calculated purchasing power index is again based on a value of 100 for the United States. If it is higher, people can afford more based on the cost of living in relation to income. If it is lower, the population is less wealthy.

The example of Switzerland: With a cost of living index of 142 all goods are on average about 42% more expensive than in the USA. But the average income in Switzerland of 7,550 USD is also 28% higher, which means that citizens can also afford more goods. Now you calculate the 42% higher costs against the 28% higher income. In the result, people in Switzerland can afford about 10 percent less than a US citizen."

Source: https://www.worlddata.info/cost-of-living.php

This table contains data on the living wage and the percent of families with incomes below the living wage for California, its counties, regions and cities/towns. Living wage is the wage needed to cover basic family expenses (basic needs budget) plus all relevant taxes; it does not include publicly provided income or housing assistance. The percent of families below the living wage was calculated using data from the Living Wage Calculator and the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. The table is part of a series of indicators in the Healthy Communities Data and Indicators Project of the Office of Health Equity. The living wage is the wage or annual income that covers the cost of the bare necessities of life for a worker and his/her family. These necessities include housing, transportation, food, childcare, health care, and payment of taxes. Low income populations and non-white race/ethnic have disproportionately lower wages, poorer housing, and higher levels of food insecurity. More information about the data table and a data dictionary can be found in the About/Attachments section.

Cost of living data based on food, housing, utilities, transportation, healthcare, and consumer discretionary spending in the United States.

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Mean Real Household Wages Adjusted by Cost of Living for Richmond city, VA (MWACL51760) from 2009 to 2023 about Richmond City, VA; Richmond; adjusted; VA; average; wages; real; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Mean Real Household Wages Adjusted by Cost of Living for Ada County, ID (MWACL16001) from 2009 to 2023 about Ada County, ID; Boise City; ID; adjusted; average; wages; real; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Mean Real Household Wages Adjusted by Cost of Living for New York County, NY (MWACL36061) from 2009 to 2023 about New York County, NY; adjusted; New York; average; NY; wages; real; and USA.

Detailed cost of living comparison between United States and Jersey

In 2024, the CPI in U.S. cities averaged at 313.7. However, the CPI for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area amounted to about 334.21. Prices in New York City were significantly higher than the U.S. average. Nonetheless, the San Diego-Carlsbad area ranked first with a CPI of 373.32.The monthly inflation rate for the United States can be found here.