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.

In July 2025, 59 percent of households in Great Britain reported that their cost of living had increased in the previous month, compared with 72 percent in April. 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.

Find out how Australians feel about the increasing cost of living in our latest survey, as well as the latest data from the Cost of Living Index in 2024.

Living Cost: Labour Force: Average per Month: SF: Republic of Crimea data was reported at 11,846.000 RUB in Dec 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 11,671.000 RUB for Sep 2020. Living Cost: Labour Force: Average per Month: SF: Republic of Crimea data is updated quarterly, averaging 10,467.500 RUB from Sep 2014 (Median) to Dec 2020, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11,846.000 RUB in Dec 2020 and a record low of 6,211.000 RUB in Sep 2014. Living Cost: Labour Force: Average per Month: SF: Republic of Crimea data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Household Survey – Table RU.HF002: Living Cost: Labour Force.

Inflation is generally defined as the continued increase in the average prices of goods and services in a given region. Following the extremely high global inflation experienced in the 1980s and 1990s, global inflation has been relatively stable since the turn of the millennium, usually hovering between three and five percent per year. There was a sharp increase in 2008 due to the global financial crisis now known as the Great Recession, but inflation was fairly stable throughout the 2010s, before the current inflation crisis began in 2021. Recent years Despite the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the global inflation rate fell to 3.26 percent in the pandemic's first year, before rising to 4.66 percent in 2021. This increase came as the impact of supply chain delays began to take more of an effect on consumer prices, before the Russia-Ukraine war exacerbated this further. A series of compounding issues such as rising energy and food prices, fiscal instability in the wake of the pandemic, and consumer insecurity have created a new global recession, and global inflation in 2024 is estimated to have reached 5.76 percent. This is the highest annual increase in inflation since 1996. Venezuela Venezuela is the country with the highest individual inflation rate in the world, forecast at around 200 percent in 2022. While this is figure is over 100 times larger than the global average in most years, it actually marks a decrease in Venezuela's inflation rate, which had peaked at over 65,000 percent in 2018. Between 2016 and 2021, Venezuela experienced hyperinflation due to the government's excessive spending and printing of money in an attempt to curve its already-high inflation rate, and the wave of migrants that left the country resulted in one of the largest refugee crises in recent years. In addition to its economic problems, political instability and foreign sanctions pose further long-term problems for Venezuela. While hyperinflation may be coming to an end, it remains to be seen how much of an impact this will have on the economy, how living standards will change, and how many refugees may return in the coming years.

Living Cost: Labour Force: Average per Month: FE: Chukotka Area data was reported at 24,711.000 RUB in Dec 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 24,583.000 RUB for Sep 2020. Living Cost: Labour Force: Average per Month: FE: Chukotka Area data is updated quarterly, averaging 11,949.000 RUB from Jun 2003 (Median) to Dec 2020, with 71 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 24,711.000 RUB in Dec 2020 and a record low of 5,930.000 RUB in Dec 2003. Living Cost: Labour Force: Average per Month: FE: Chukotka Area data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Household Survey – Table RU.HF002: Living Cost: Labour Force.

Living Cost: Children: Average per Month: NC: Republic of Ingushetia data was reported at 10,872.000 RUB in Dec 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 10,853.000 RUB for Sep 2020. Living Cost: Children: Average per Month: NC: Republic of Ingushetia data is updated quarterly, averaging 4,561.000 RUB from Mar 2001 (Median) to Dec 2020, with 80 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11,015.000 RUB in Jun 2020 and a record low of 970.000 RUB in Mar 2001. Living Cost: Children: Average per Month: NC: Republic of Ingushetia data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Household Survey – Table RU.HF004: Living Cost: Children.

In January 2025, prices had increased by three percent compared to January 2024 according to the 12-month percentage change in the consumer price index — the monthly inflation rate for goods and services in the United States. The data represents U.S. city averages. In economics, the inflation rate is a measure of the change in price level over time. The rate of decrease in the purchasing power of money is approximately equal. A projection of the annual U.S. inflation rate can be accessed here and the actual annual inflation rate since 1990 can be accessed here. InflationOne of the most important economic indicators is the development of the Consumer Price Index in a country. The change in this price level of goods and services is defined as the rate of inflation. The inflationary situation in the United States had been relatively severe in 2022 due to global events relating to COVID-19, supply chain restrains, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. More information on U.S. inflation may be found on our dedicated topic page. The annual inflation rate in the United States has increased from 3.2 percent in 2011 to 8.3 percent in 2022. This means that the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar has weakened in recent years. The purchasing power is the extent to which a person has available funds to make purchases. According to the data published by the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) was about 258.84 in 2020 and is forecasted to grow up to 325.6 by 2027, compared to the base period from 1982 to 1984. The monthly percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for urban consumers in the United States was 0.1 percent in March 2023 compared to the previous month. In 2022, countries all around the world are experienced high levels of inflation. Although Brazil already had an inflation rate of 8.3 percent in 2021, compared to the previous year, while the inflation rate in China stood at 0.85 percent.

Living Cost: Children: Average per Month: FE: Amur Region data was reported at 14,387.000 RUB in Dec 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 13,924.000 RUB for Sep 2020. Living Cost: Children: Average per Month: FE: Amur Region data is updated quarterly, averaging 7,557.000 RUB from Dec 2001 (Median) to Dec 2020, with 77 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 14,387.000 RUB in Dec 2020 and a record low of 1,823.000 RUB in Dec 2001. Living Cost: Children: Average per Month: FE: Amur Region data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Household Survey – Table RU.HF004: Living Cost: Children.

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.

Living Cost: Children: Average per Month: NW: City of St Petersburg data was reported at 11,608.000 RUB in Dec 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 11,391.000 RUB for Sep 2020. Living Cost: Children: Average per Month: NW: City of St Petersburg data is updated quarterly, averaging 5,379.500 RUB from Mar 2002 (Median) to Dec 2020, with 76 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11,608.000 RUB in Dec 2020 and a record low of 1,938.000 RUB in Mar 2002. Living Cost: Children: Average per Month: NW: City of St Petersburg data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Household Survey – Table RU.HF004: Living Cost: Children.

The FCA has published selected data, from its latest Financial Lives survey, on vulnerability and financial resilience, and insights into the financial positions of UK consumers in May 2022. This data contributes to the evidence base on the rising cost of living. For its latest survey – Financial Lives 2022 – fieldwork ran from early February to early June, with a majority of the 19,145 interviews completed in May 2022. Although it is still analysing the data, it is providing selected statistics on vulnerability and financial resilience to give an insight into the financial positions of UK consumers in May of this year. Key findings include: In May 2022, 12.9 million UK adults had low financial resilience – 1 in 4 (24%) of all UK adults. These are people who are in financial difficulty, or who could quickly find themselves in difficulty if they suffer a financial shock, because, for example, they have little to no savings or are heavily burdened by their domestic bills or credit commitments. This result is much worse than it recorded in its February 2020 Financial Lives survey. At that time, 10.7 million adults had low financial resilience, 2.2 million fewer than in May of this year. The main reason for this increase is a large jump in the proportion of adults who say they are heavily burdened by their domestic bills and credit commitments: 7.8 million adults (15% of all adults) felt this way in May this year, compared with 5.3 million adults (10%) in February 2020. This is not surprising, as there has been a significant increase in the cost of living in the latter half of 2021 and in 2022.

Consumer Price Index CPI in the United States increased to 323.05 points in July from 322.56 points in June of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

In March 2025, inflation amounted to 2.4 percent, while wages grew by 4.3 percent. The inflation rate has not exceeded the rate of wage growth since January 2023. Inflation in 2022 The high rates of inflation in 2022 meant that the real terms value of American wages took a hit. Many Americans report feelings of concern over the economy and a worsening of their financial situation. The inflation situation in the United States is one that was experienced globally in 2022, mainly due to COVID-19 related supply chain constraints and disruption due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The monthly inflation rate for the U.S. reached a 40-year high in June 2022 at 9.1 percent, and annual inflation for 2022 reached eight percent. Without appropriate wage increases, Americans will continue to see a decline in their purchasing power. Wages in the U.S. Despite the level of wage growth reaching 6.7 percent in the summer of 2022, it has not been enough to curb the impact of even higher inflation rates. The federally mandated minimum wage in the United States has not increased since 2009, meaning that individuals working minimum wage jobs have taken a real terms pay cut for the last twelve years. There are discrepancies between states - the minimum wage in California can be as high as 15.50 U.S. dollars per hour, while a business in Oklahoma may be as low as two U.S. dollars per hour. However, even the higher wage rates in states like California and Washington may be lacking - one analysis found that if minimum wage had kept up with productivity, the minimum hourly wage in the U.S. should have been 22.88 dollars per hour in 2021. Additionally, the impact of decreased purchasing power due to inflation will impact different parts of society in different ways with stark contrast in average wages due to both gender and race.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered social and economic stagnation worldwide, significantly impacting people’s lives. In addition, the Russia-Ukraine war that began in 2022 resulted in rising food prices globally, severely affecting low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to examine the impact of these unprecedented crises on individual values, focusing on Senegal’s urban population. This study is the first to quantitatively assess changes in the values of urban Senegalese during this global crisis. Surveys were conducted in Saint-Louis, Senegal, in August-September 2018 and June-July 2022. The timing of these studies coincides with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 and the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022. The findings revealed a 19.9% decrease in the average monthly cost of living per capita between 2018 and 2022, attributed to the combined effects of rising food prices and unemployment. Furthermore, the proportion of households spending less than $3.50 per person per day—below the lower-middle-income class poverty line—increased by 11.05%. Our analysis indicates a decline in values such as benevolence, universalism, hedonism, and self-direction. In contrast, values related to power and achievement significantly increased following the pandemic. These results suggest that individual values are flexible and may change in response to external factors such as global crises.

Graph and download economic data for Inflation, consumer prices for the United States (FPCPITOTLZGUSA) from 1960 to 2024 about consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

In 2020, the cost of living index for food and beverages in Saudi Arabia was ******, which implies an increase of ***** percent from the year 2018. In the same year, the general cost of living was ******.

Sampling Procedure Comment: Probability Sample: Multistage Stratified Random Sample

Living Cost: Average per Month: NW: Leningrad Region data was reported at 11,289.000 RUB in Dec 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 11,212.000 RUB for Sep 2020. Living Cost: Average per Month: NW: Leningrad Region data is updated quarterly, averaging 5,775.000 RUB from Dec 2002 (Median) to Dec 2020, with 73 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11,289.000 RUB in Dec 2020 and a record low of 1,899.000 RUB in Dec 2002. Living Cost: Average per Month: NW: Leningrad Region data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Household Survey – Table RU.HF001: Living Cost.

Clothing retailing revenue is forecast to fall at a compound annual rate of 0.8% over the five years through 2024-25 to £47.3 billion. This decline predominantly stems from weak performance in 2020-21 thanks to the pandemic. Since then, clothing sales have been propped up by the dramatic increase in photos and videos posted online; strong demand for fast, affordable fashion; and the introduction of credit and financing services like buy-now-pay-later platforms, which have allowed consumers to better manage their budgets and splash the cash on new clothes. Despite their recent growth, clothing retailers have faced several challenges. Online-only retailers like ASOS, Shein and Temu have grown in popularity thanks to their versatility, siphoning sales away from the British high street. Further, the fashion industry's success relies on selling mountains of clothing at low prices, but this has come with devasting environmental and social effects – and times are changing. Retailers have also contended with tightening disposable incomes, with the cost-of-living crisis seeing consumers think twice before adding that new outfit to their baskets. Despite consumer confidence improving since the height of the cost-of-living crisis in 2022-23, it remains weak, limiting spending on clothing. Still, in 2024-25, revenue is expected to bump up by 1.5%. The average profit margin has inched down over the past five years thanks to discounting activity. Clothing retailers will face a tough start to 2025-26, with hikes to the National Living Wage and National Insurance contributions set to ramp up costs. Despite this, opportunities for growth remain. Sustainability remains key, with consumers embracing upcycling, rental options and resale schemes, like ITX’s buy-back initiative. Meanwhile, influencer marketing is shifting towards authenticity as consumers favour genuine engagement over polished content and social commerce is set to boom. Despite e-commerce growth, physical stores remain relevant, with brands like Uniqlo and Abercrombie expanding. AI is also transforming retail, enhancing personalisation, inventory management, and sustainability. To stay competitive, retailers are likely to innovate across digital, in-store and operational strategies. Those that fail to adapt risk not benefitting from a potentially lucrative market. Revenue in is slated to grow at a compound annual rate of 1.1% over the five years through 2029-30 to £50.1 billion, when the average industry profit margin is slated to be 5.8%, weighed down by competition and rising investment in efficiency initiatives.