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 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.

Household income is a potential predictor for a number of environmental influences, for example, application of urban pesticides. This product is a U.S. conterminous mapping of block group income derived from the 2010-2014 Census American Community Survey (ACS), adjusted by a 2013 county-level Cost-of-Living index obtained from the Council for Community and Economic Research. The resultant raster is provided at 200-m spatial resolution, in units of adjusted household income in thousands of dollars per year.

The housing costs inflation rate for low-income households in the United Kingdom was noticeably higher than that of high-income ones between April 2022 and April 2023, during a serious cost of living crisis in the UK. As of June 2024, however, the inflation rate for high-income households was higher than that of middle or low incomes ones.

Experimental statistics from the Student Cost of Living Insights Study (SCoLIS) in England. Includes information on the behaviours, plans, opinions and well-being of higher education students in the context of the increases in cost of living.

This Cost of International Education dataset compiles detailed financial information for students pursuing higher education abroad. It covers multiple countries, cities, and universities around the world, capturing the full tuition and living expenses spectrum alongside key ancillary costs. With standardized fields such as tuition in USD, living-cost indices, rent, visa fees, insurance, and up-to-date exchange rates, it enables comparative analysis across programs, degree levels, and geographies. Whether you’re a prospective international student mapping out budgets, an educational consultant advising on affordability, or a researcher studying global education economics, this dataset offers a comprehensive foundation for data-driven insights.

Description

Column	Type	Description
Country	string	ISO country name where the university is located (e.g., “Germany”, “Australia”).
City	string	City in which the institution sits (e.g., “Munich”, “Melbourne”).
University	string	Official name of the higher-education institution (e.g., “Technical University of Munich”).
Program	string	Specific course or major (e.g., “Master of Computer Science”, “MBA”).
Level	string	Degree level of the program: “Undergraduate”, “Master’s”, “PhD”, or other certifications.
Duration_Years	integer	Length of the program in years (e.g., 2 for a typical Master’s).
Tuition_USD	numeric	Total program tuition cost, converted into U.S. dollars for ease of comparison.
Living_Cost_Index	numeric	A normalized index (often based on global city indices) reflecting relative day-to-day living expenses (food, transport, utilities).
Rent_USD	numeric	Average monthly student accommodation rent in U.S. dollars.
Visa_Fee_USD	numeric	One-time visa application fee payable by international students, in U.S. dollars.
Insurance_USD	numeric	Annual health or student insurance cost in U.S. dollars, as required by many host countries.
Exchange_Rate	numeric	Local currency units per U.S. dollar at the time of data collection—vital for currency conversion and trend analysis if rates fluctuate.

Potential Uses

• Budget Planning Prospective students can filter by country, program level, or university to forecast total expenses and compare across destinations.
• Policy Analysis Educational policymakers and NGOs can assess the affordability of international education and design support programs.
• Economic Research Economists can correlate living-cost indices and tuition levels with enrollment rates or student demographics.
• University Benchmarking Institutions can benchmark their fees and ancillary costs against peer universities worldwide.

Notes on Data Collection & Quality

• Currency Conversions All monetary values are unified to USD using contemporaneous exchange rates to facilitate direct comparison.
• Living Cost Index Derived from reputable city-index publications (e.g., Numbeo, Mercer) to standardize disparate cost-of-living metrics.
• Data Currency Exchange rates and fee schedules should be periodically updated to reflect market fluctuations and policy changes.

Feel free to explore, visualize, and extend this dataset for deeper insights into the true cost of studying abroad!

The ACCRA Cost of Living Index (COLI) is a measure of living cost differences among urban areas compiled by the Council for Community and Economic Research. Conducted quarterly, the index compares the price of goods and services among approximately 300 communities in the United States and Canada. This Microsoft Excel file contains the average prices of goods and services published in the ACCRA Cost of Living Index since 1990.

A December 2023 study looked at the Britons' main responses to tackle the rising cost of living when planning a holiday. While 62 percent of the survey sample reported intending to travel outside peak periods, 44 percent of respondents mentioned reducing the number of nights spent on vacation.

The authors constructed a state cost of living index for the 48 continental United States, measured annually for the period 1960 through 2003 (to update an index for 1960-1995 introduced in the authors' May 2000 Journal of Politics article).

According to an April 2023 survey conducted by We Are Social and Statista Q, about 68 percent of UK consumers spend less on non-essentials in reaction to the cost of living crisis, whereas 63 percent pay more attention to bargains, good deals, or offers (when shopping). Similarly, more than half of respondents use less gas and electricity in their homes to deal with the situation.

In June 2024, the household cost inflation rate (HCI) for low-income households in the United Kingdom was 1.7 percent, compared with 2.3 percent for middle-income households, and 3.3 percent for high-income households. Unlike other measures of inflation such as the consumer price index (CPI) the HCI isn't based on a fixed basket of goods, but is weighted to show how price changes affect different households by their economic status.

This dataset contains data on the monthly cost of living in Lithuania in 1913 and 1919-1939.

A rapid and unexpected increase in global prices lead to an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis in 2022/23, affecting pupils and their schools who are often the first-line of support for families. This project gathered evidence around the overarching scale of challenges in schools in England, how these varied across settings and groups of pupils, and what steps schools took to mitigate the impacts of the crisis. It drew on nationally representative surveys of teachers and senior leaders in mainstream and special schools, to provide insights into the overarching impact of the cost-of-living crisis on pupils, how day-to-day provision in schools has been affected and the support which schools are providing.

A rapid and unexpected increase in global prices in 2021 and 2022 lead to an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis in 2022/23, affecting pupils and their schools who are often the first-line of support for families. This project gathered evidence around the overarching scale of challenges in schools in England, how these varied across settings and groups of pupils, and what steps schools took to mitigate the impacts of the crisis. It drew on nationally representative surveys of teachers and senior leaders in mainstream and special schools, to provide insights into the overarching impact of the cost-of-living crisis on pupils, how day-to-day provision in schools has been affected and the support which schools are providing.

As of September 2024, Mumbai had the highest cost of living among other cities in the country, with an index value of ****. Gurgaon, a satellite city of Delhi and part of the National Capital Region (NCR) followed it with an index value of ****.  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.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Living Costs and Food Survey, 2013: Unrestricted Access Teaching Dataset is based on the Living Costs and Food Survey, 2013 (LCF), available from the UK Data Archive under SN 7702, and constitutes real data which are used by government, business and other organisations. The teaching dataset is a subset which has been subjected to certain simplifications and additions for the purpose of learning and teaching.

The main differences are:

• the number of variables has been reduced
• a reduced User Guide with codebook is provided
• some variables have been recoded to reduce the level of detail

Further information is available in the study documentation (see below) which includes a User Guide.

For the second edition (August 2016) a new weighting variable has been added to the data and the user guide has been updated accordingly.
Main Topics:

Topics covered include: total expenditure; household income; socio-economic status; and household characteristics.

These data were gathered in order to determine the cost of living as well as the cost of production in selected industries in the United States and several Western European countries. The study is comprised of nine industries (cotton and woolen textiles, glass, pig iron, bar iron, steel, bituminous coal, coke, and iron ore) and contains family-level information on the household composition, income and expenditures of workers in these industries. Additional topics covered include sources of income, ages and sex of children, detailed occupation of the household head, detailed expenditures for food as well as nonfood items, and characteristics of the family's dwelling units.

In September 2023, Learning and Work was commissioned by the GLA to conduct research into the impact of the rising cost of living on London’s adult education landscape. GLA data shows that in 2023, 17% of Londoners were ‘struggling financially’, and another 30% were ‘just about managing’. Increased inflation also impacted the cost of doing business for London’s skills providers and Further Education (FE) workforce. This report and the summary report are based upon a survey, depth interviews and focus groups with learners, providers, and third sector organisations that provide and campaign for people on low incomes. The fieldwork took place between November 2023 and March 2024. The research provides an account of the impact of the rising cost of living on London’s FE sector.

In March 2025, 66 percent of households in Great Britain reported that their cost of living had increased in the previous month, compared with 45 percent in July 2024. Although the share of people reporting a cost of living increase has generally been falling since August 2022, when 91 percent of households reported an increase, the most recent figures indicate that the Cost of Living Crisis is still ongoing for many households in the UK. Crisis ligers even as inflation falls Although various factors have been driving the Cost of Living Crisis in Britain, high inflation has undoubtedly been one of the main factors. After several years of relatively low inflation, the CPI inflation rate shot up from 2021 onwards, hitting a high of 11.1 percent in October 2022. In the months since that peak, inflation has fallen to more usual levels, and was 2.5 percent in December 2024, slightly up from 1.7 percent in September. Since June 2023, wages have also started to grow at a faster rate than inflation, albeit after a long period where average wages were falling relative to overall price increases. Economy continues to be the main issue for voters Ahead of the last UK general election, the economy was consistently selected as the main issue for voters for several months. Although the Conservative Party was seen by voters as the best party for handling the economy before October 2022, this perception collapsed following the market's reaction to Liz Truss' mini-budget. Even after changing their leader from Truss to Rishi Sunak, the Conservatives continued to fall in the polls, and would go onto lose the election decisively. Since the election, the economy remains the most important issue in the UK, although it was only slightly ahead of immigration and health as of January 2025.

Abstract

In 1997, Slovenia Household Budget Survey (HBS), which had been conducted in the country previously, was converted into a continuous study and redesigned according to EUROSTAT recommendations.

The Household Budget Survey provides information about living standards and social situation of private households, especially information on development and structure of their expenditures and incomes. Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) is applied, as required for HBS by EUROSTAT.

Random probability sample is used to select households. Households are surveyed throughout the year, and each household cooperates in the survey for 14 days. Data is collected through interviews and expenditure and consumption diaries filled by household members.

Geographic coverage

National

Analysis unit

• Individuals,
• Households.

Household is a community of persons who live together and share their income to cover the basic cost of living (food, accommodation, etc.). A member of a household can however temporarily live apart because of a work, school or other reasons. A household is also a person who lives alone and does not have his/her own household elsewhere. She/he can live in the same dwelling with other persons but does not share income for covering the cost of living.

Universe

All private households. The survey does not cover collective households, foreigners temporarily living in Slovenia, and the homeless.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample stratification was made based on 12 statistical regions and six types of settlements. In bigger settlements (with over 10,000 inhabitants) simple random sampling was used. In smaller settlements sampling of clusters with four people, who define the household, was applied. First, enumeration areas were selected (taking into account their size) for the whole year and then for each quarter four persons in each enumeration area were selected. In bigger settlements only persons were selected with simple random sampling for each quarter. The method of substitution (selecting substitute households that would replace the ones that did not cooperate) was not used; instead researchers increased the sample according to the response rate from previous years.

The Central Population Register was used as the sampling frame.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

A household questionnaire and diaries are used to collect data.

Two types of diaries were designed: 1) Diary for the main purchaser (Diary A); 2) Diary for other members 14 or more years old (Diary B).

Respondents fill in the diaries for 14 days, starting one day after the first visit of the interviewer.

Diary B is voluntary; it is not kept by each household member. It is designed for household members who usually make their own purchases. Diary B records the same information as Diary A; its structure is the same as the structure of Diary A, but it is a little shorter. If a main purchaser fills information for purchases made by other household member in Diary A, the same expense should not be recorded in Diary B.

The questionnaire is divided into two parts. The first part is filled in during the first visit before the recording period. The interviewer hands out the diaries and starts with the first part of the interview which covers information on household members (gender, marital status, educational level, work), housing conditions and housing costs, purchases of a dwelling or house and availability of durables. The second part of the interview takes place after 14 days, at the second visit. It includes information on expenditures not covered by the diary (purchase of a car, motorcycle, boat, major durables, furniture, clothing and footwear, domestic help, health and education expenditure, insurance, financial transfers and financial situation, some taxes and other expenditure), holidays, income and consumption of own production.