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.

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.

This statistic shows the most affordable metro areas in the Unites States in 2017, by share of income spent on living expenses. In 2017, Omaha was the second most affordable metro area because ***** percent of the median blending annual household income was spent on the average cost of owning or renting a home as well the average cost of utilities and taxes.

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.

The cost of living is spiraling. Prices are going up, household expenses are rising, and the U.S. inflation rate reached a 40-year record high in 2023. Many consumers are looking for new ways to deal with this situation and refer to social media for support. So, which social media platforms have the most helpful content to deal with the current cost of living crisis in the U.S.? According to an exclusive survey by We Are Social and Statista Q, around 61 percent of TikTok users in the United States find helpful content there. Coming on number second is YouTube, as 56 percent of YouTube users find life hacks, tricks, money saving tips and other suitable advice to deal with inflation in 2023.

This dataset contains replication files for "The Fading American Dream: Trends in Absolute Income Mobility Since 1940" by Raj Chetty, David Grusky, Maximilian Hell, Nathaniel Hendren, Robert Manduca, and Jimmy Narang. For more information, see https://opportunityinsights.org/paper/the-fading-american-dream/. A summary of the related publication follows. One of the defining features of the “American Dream” is the ideal that children have a higher standard of living than their parents. We assess whether the U.S. is living up to this ideal by estimating rates of “absolute income mobility” – the fraction of children who earn more than their parents – since 1940. We measure absolute mobility by comparing children’s household incomes at age 30 (adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index) with their parents’ household incomes at age 30. We find that rates of absolute mobility have fallen from approximately 90% for children born in 1940 to 50% for children born in the 1980s. Absolute income mobility has fallen across the entire income distribution, with the largest declines for families in the middle class. These findings are unaffected by using alternative price indices to adjust for inflation, accounting for taxes and transfers, measuring income at later ages, and adjusting for changes in household size. Absolute mobility fell in all 50 states, although the rate of decline varied, with the largest declines concentrated in states in the industrial Midwest, such as Michigan and Illinois. The decline in absolute mobility is especially steep – from 95% for children born in 1940 to 41% for children born in 1984 – when we compare the sons’ earnings to their fathers’ earnings. Why have rates of upward income mobility fallen so sharply over the past half-century? There have been two important trends that have affected the incomes of children born in the 1980s relative to those born in the 1940s and 1950s: lower Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rates and greater inequality in the distribution of growth. We find that most of the decline in absolute mobility is driven by the more unequal distribution of economic growth rather than the slowdown in aggregate growth rates. When we simulate an economy that restores GDP growth to the levels experienced in the 1940s and 1950s but distributes that growth across income groups as it is distributed today, absolute mobility only increases to 62%. In contrast, maintaining GDP at its current level but distributing it more broadly across income groups – at it was distributed for children born in the 1940s – would increase absolute mobility to 80%, thereby reversing more than two-thirds of the decline in absolute mobility. These findings show that higher growth rates alone are insufficient to restore absolute mobility to the levels experienced in mid-century America. Under the current distribution of GDP, we would need real GDP growth rates above 6% per year to return to rates of absolute mobility in the 1940s. Intuitively, because a large fraction of GDP goes to a small fraction of high-income households today, higher GDP growth does not substantially increase the number of children who earn more than their parents. Of course, this does not mean that GDP growth does not matter: changing the distribution of growth naturally has smaller effects on absolute mobility when there is very little growth to be distributed. The key point is that increasing absolute mobility substantially would require more broad-based economic growth. We conclude that absolute mobility has declined sharply in America over the past half-century primarily because of the growth in inequality. If one wants to revive the “American Dream” of high rates of absolute mobility, one must have an interest in growth that is shared more broadly across the income distribution.

Abstract

In 1992, Bosnia-Herzegovina, one of the six republics in former Yugoslavia, became an independent nation. A civil war started soon thereafter, lasting until 1995 and causing widespread destruction and losses of lives. Following the Dayton accord, BosniaHerzegovina (BiH) emerged as an independent state comprised of two entities, namely, the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina (FBiH) and the Republika Srpska (RS), and the district of Brcko. In addition to the destruction caused to the physical infrastructure, there was considerable social disruption and decline in living standards for a large section of the population. Alongside these events, a period of economic transition to a market economy was occurring. The distributive impacts of this transition, both positive and negative, are unknown. In short, while it is clear that welfare levels have changed, there is very little information on poverty and social indicators on which to base policies and programs. In the post-war process of rebuilding the economic and social base of the country, the government has faced the problems created by having little relevant data at the household level. The three statistical organizations in the country (State Agency for Statistics for BiH -BHAS, the RS Institute of Statistics-RSIS, and the FBiH Institute of Statistics-FIS) have been active in working to improve the data available to policy makers: both at the macro and the household level. One facet of their activities is to design and implement a series of household series. The first of these surveys is the Living Standards Measurement Study survey (LSMS). Later surveys will include the Household Budget Survey (an Income and Expenditure Survey) and a Labour Force Survey. A subset of the LSMS households will be re-interviewed in the two years following the LSMS to create a panel data set.

The three statistical organizations began work on the design of the Living Standards Measurement Study Survey (LSMS) in 1999. The purpose of the survey was to collect data needed for assessing the living standards of the population and for providing the key indicators needed for social and economic policy formulation. The survey was to provide data at the country and the entity level and to allow valid comparisons between entities to be made. The LSMS survey was carried out in the Fall of 2001 by the three statistical organizations with financial and technical support from the Department for International Development of the British Government (DfID), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Japanese Government, and the World Bank (WB). The creation of a Master Sample for the survey was supported by the Swedish Government through SIDA, the European Commission, the Department for International Development of the British Government and the World Bank. The overall management of the project was carried out by the Steering Board, comprised of the Directors of the RS and FBiH Statistical Institutes, the Management Board of the State Agency for Statistics and representatives from DfID, UNDP and the WB. The day-to-day project activities were carried out by the Survey Management Team, made up of two professionals from each of the three statistical organizations. The Living Standard Measurement Survey LSMS, in addition to collecting the information necessary to obtain a comprehensive as possible measure of the basic dimensions of household living standards, has three basic objectives, as follows: 1. To provide the public sector, government, the business community, scientific institutions, international donor organizations and social organizations with information on different indicators of the population's living conditions, as well as on available resources for satisfying basic needs. 2. To provide information for the evaluation of the results of different forms of government policy and programs developed with the aim to improve the population's living standard. The survey will enable the analysis of the relations between and among different aspects of living standards (housing, consumption, education, health, labour) at a given time, as well as within a household. 3. To provide key contributions for development of government's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, based on analysed data.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

Households

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

(a) SAMPLE SIZE A total sample of 5,400 households was determined to be adequate for the needs of the survey: with 2,400 in the Republika Srpska and 3,000 in the Federation of BiH. The difficulty was in selecting a probability sample that would be representative of the country's population. The sample design for any survey depends upon the availability of information on the universe of households and individuals in the country. Usually this comes from a census or administrative records. In the case of BiH the most recent census was done in 1991. The data from this census were rendered obsolete due to both the simple passage of time but, more importantly, due to the massive population displacements that occurred during the war. At the initial stages of this project it was decided that a master sample should be constructed. Experts from Statistics Sweden developed the plan for the master sample and provided the procedures for its construction. From this master sample, the households for the LSMS were selected. Master Sample [This section is based on Peter Lynn's note "LSMS Sample Design and Weighting - Summary". April, 2002. Essex University, commissioned by DfID.] The master sample is based on a selection of municipalities and a full enumeration of the selected municipalities. Optimally, one would prefer smaller units (geographic or administrative) than municipalities. However, while it was considered that the population estimates of municipalities were reasonably accurate, this was not the case for smaller geographic or administrative areas. To avoid the error involved in sampling smaller areas with very uncertain population estimates, municipalities were used as the base unit for the master sample. The Statistics Sweden team proposed two options based on this same method, with the only difference being in the number of municipalities included and enumerated.

(b) SAMPLE DESIGN For reasons of funding, the smaller option proposed by the team was used, or Option B. Stratification of Municipalities The first step in creating the Master Sample was to group the 146 municipalities in the country into three strata- Urban, Rural and Mixed - within each of the two entities. Urban municipalities are those where 65 percent or more of the households are considered to be urban, and rural municipalities are those where the proportion of urban households is below 35 percent. The remaining municipalities were classified as Mixed (Urban and Rural) Municipalities. Brcko was excluded from the sampling frame. Urban, Rural and Mixed Municipalities: It is worth noting that the urban-rural definitions used in BiH are unusual with such large administrative units as municipalities classified as if they were completely homogeneous. Their classification into urban, rural, mixed comes from the 1991 Census which used the predominant type of income of households in the municipality to define the municipality. This definition is imperfect in two ways. First, the distribution of income sources may have changed dramatically from the pre-war times: populations have shifted, large industries have closed, and much agricultural land remains unusable due to the presence of land mines. Second, the definition is not comparable to other countries' where villages, towns and cities are classified by population size into rural or urban or by types of services and infrastructure available. Clearly, the types of communities within a municipality vary substantially in terms of both population and infrastructure. However, these imperfections are not detrimental to the sample design (the urban/rural definition may not be very useful for analysis purposes, but that is a separate issue).

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Cleaning operations

(a) DATA ENTRY

An integrated approach to data entry and fieldwork was adopted in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Data entry proceeded side by side with data gathering to ensure verification and correction in the field. Data entry stations were located in the regional offices of the entity institutes and were equipped with computers, modem and a dedicated telephone line. The completed questionnaires were delivered to these stations each day for data entry. Twenty data entry operators (10 from Federation and 10 from RS) were trained in two training sessions held for a week each in Sarajevo and Banja Luka. The trainers were the staff of the two entity institutes who had undergone training in the CSPro software earlier and had participated in the workshops of the Pilot survey. Prior to the training, laptop computers were provided to the entity institutes, and the CSPro software was installed in them. The training for the data entry operators covered the following elements:

• Introduction to the LSMS Survey questionnaire; Introduction to the personal computers/ lap top computers; Copying data on diskette and printing of output
• The Data entry programme (CSPro). Understanding of the Round 1 data entry screens (Modules 1-10)
• Practice of Round 1 (data entry trainees enter questionnaires completed by interviewer trainees during practice interviews)
• Understanding of Round 2 Data entry screen (Modules 11-13)
• Practice of Round 2 Data entry screens (data entry trainees entered the questionnaires completed by interviewer trainees)
• Control Procedures; Copying

Graph and download economic data for Expenses for Assisted Living Facilities for The Elderly, All Establishments, Employer Firms (ALFFTEEAEEF3623312) from 2013 to 2022 about elderly, assistance, employer firms, establishments, expenditures, and USA.

Out of all 50 states, New York had the highest per-capita real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, at 92,341 U.S. dollars, followed closely by Massachusetts. Mississippi had the lowest per-capita real GDP, at 41,603 U.S. dollars. While not a state, the District of Columbia had a per capita GDP of more than 210,780 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.

Graph and download economic data for All Other Operating Expenses for Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for The Elderly, All Establishments, Employer Firms (CCRCAALFFTE5106233) from 2015 to 2022 about elderly, community, assistance, retirement, operating, employer firms, establishments, expenditures, and USA.

Judgement on economic and social conditions in the USA in comparison to the FRG. Topics: Development of personal economic conditions and the standard of living in the FRG; reasons for the so-called economic miracle and share of the USA in the economic recovery; perceived linking of German economic development with other countries; attitude to a European Common Market; reasons for the high American standard of living; comparison between the USA and the FRG regarding working conditions, productivity, social security and job security of workers; image of Americans; knowledge of economic data of the USA; investment inclination; attitude to the competitive economy; assumed ownership of various branches of the economy in the FRG and in the USA, differences according to government and private; expected influence of the American government on the economy and vice versa; estimated proportion of members of the middle classes; image of American agriculture; judgement on the ideological influence of the USA on the FRG; sources of information about America; membership in clubs and organizations and offices taken on; party preference; self-assessment of social class; local residency. Demography: age (classified); marital status; religious denomination; school education; occupation; employment; household income; state; refugee status. Interviewer rating: social class and willingness of respondent to cooperate; number of contact attempts. Also encoded were: age of interviewer and sex of interviewer; city size. Beurteilung der wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Verhältnisse in den USA im Vergleich zur BRD. Themen: Entwicklung der persönlichen wirtschaftlichen Verhältnisse und des Lebensstandards in der BRD; Gründe für das sogenannte Wirtschaftswunder und Anteil der USA am wirtschaftlichen Aufschwung; wahrgenommene Verknüpfung der deutschen Wirtschaftsentwicklung mit anderen Ländern; Einstellung zu einem europäischen gemeinsamen Markt; Gründe für den hohen amerikanischen Lebensstandard; Vergleich zwischen USA und BRD bezüglich der Arbeitsbedingungen, Produktivität, Leistungsfähigkeit, Sozialversicherung und Arbeitsplatzsicherheit von Arbeitern; Image von Amerikanern; Kenntnis wirtschaftlicher Daten der USA; Investitionsneigung; Einstellung zur Wettbewerbswirtschaft; vermutete Eignerschaft verschiedener Wirtschaftszweig in der BRD und in den USA, unterschieden nach staatlich und privat; vermuteter Einfluß der amerikanischen Regierung auf die Wirtschaft und umgekehrt; geschätzter Anteil von Zugehörigen zum Mittelstand; Image der amerikanischen Landwirtschaft; Beurteilung des ideologischen Einflusses der USA auf die BRD; Informationsquellen über Amerika; Mitgliedschaft in Vereinen und Organisationen und übernommene Ämter; Parteipräferenz; Selbsteinschätzung der Schichtzugehörigkeit; Ortsansässigkeit. Demographie: Alter (klassiert); Familienstand; Konfession; Schulbildung; Beruf; Berufstätigkeit; Haushaltseinkommen; Bundesland; Flüchtlingsstatus. Interviewerrating: Schichtzugehörigkeit und Kooperationsbereitschaft des Befragten; Anzahl der Kontaktversuche. Zusätzlich verkodet wurden: Intervieweralter und Interviewergeschlecht; Ortsgröße.

In 2024, the annual cost for a private room in an assisted living facility in the U.S. amounted to ****** U.S. dollars. However, costs varied greatly from one state to another. The most expensive states for a private room in assisted living was found in Hawaii, followed by Alaska and DC.

Assessment of economic and social conditions in the USA in comparison to the FRG. Topics: Judgement on development of personal economic situation; evaluation of cooperation between the German and the American economy; evaluation of German and American commercial life, the economic strength of America, the German and American standard of living as well as the influence of American ideas on the FRG; reasons for the economic strength of America and the high standard of living as well as for American aid for European countries; differences between German and American trade unions and assumed political influence of American trade unions; economic strength of European countries; comparison of shopping habits of Germans and Americans; attitude to America and the Americans; use of sources of information about America; assessment of the best form of provision for one´s old age; naming the American film city and automobile city; estimate of quota of vehicle possession in the FRG and the USA. Demography: age (classified); marital status; religious denomination; school education; occupation; employment; household income; party preference; self-assessment of social class; state; refugee status; present and past offices held; membership. Interviewer rating: social class and willingness of respondent to cooperate; number of contact attempts. Also encoded were: age of interviewer and sex of interviewer; city size. Einschätzung der wirtschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Verhältnisse in den USA im Vergleich zur BRD. Themen: Beurteilung der Entwicklung der eigenen wirtschaftlichen Lage; Bewertung der Zusammenarbeit zwischen der deutschen und der amerikanischen Wirtschaft; Bewertung des deutschen und amerikanischen Geschäftslebens, der wirtschaftlichen Stärke Amerikas, des deutschen und amerikanischen Lebensstandards sowie des Einflusses amerikanischer Ideen auf die BRD; Gründe für die wirtschaftliche Stärke Amerikas und den hohen Lebensstandard sowie für die amerikanische Hilfe an europäischen Staaten; Unterschiede zwischen deutschen und amerikanischen Gewerkschaften und vermuteter politischer Einfluß der amerikanischen Gewerkschaften; wirtschaftliche Stärke europäischer Länder; Vergleich der Kaufgewohnheiten von Deutschen und Amerikanern; Einstellung zu Amerika und den Amerikanern; Nutzung von Informationsquellen über Amerika; Einschätzung der besten Form der Altersversorgung; Nennung der amerikanischen Filmstadt und Autostadt; Schätzung der Kfz-Besitzquoten in der BRD und den USA. Demographie: Alter (klassiert); Familienstand; Konfession; Schulbildung; Beruf; Berufstätigkeit; Haushaltseinkommen; Parteipräferenz; Selbsteinschätzung der Schichtzugehörigkeit; Bundesland; Flüchtlingsstatus; innegehabte und innehabende Ämter; Mitgliedschaft. Interviewerrating: Kooperationsbereitschaft und Schichtzugehörigkeit des Befragten; Anzahl der Kontaktversuche. Zusätzlich verkodet wurden: Intervieweralter und Interviewergeschlecht; Ortsgröße.

1199 persons were interviewed in the FRG, 1228 in France, 1178 in Great Britain, 1164 in Italy and 500 in Greece. The study has the USIA-designation XX-17. The USIA-Studies of the XX-Series (international relations) from XX-2 to XX-18 are archived under ZA Study Nos. 1969-1976 as well as 2069-2074 and 2124-2127.

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.

Other-Operating-Expenses Time Series for Brookdale Senior Living Inc. Brookdale Senior Living Inc. owns, manages, and operates senior living communities in the United States. It operates in three segments: Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). The Independent Living segment owns or leases communities comprising independent and assisted living units in a single community that are primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors. The Assisted Living and Memory Care segment owns or leases communities consisting of freestanding, multi-story communities and freestanding, single-story communities, which offer housing and 24-hour assistance with activities of daily living for the Company's residents. This segment operates memory care communities for residents with Alzheimer's and other dementias. The CCRCs segment owns or leases communities that provides various living arrangements, such as independent and assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing; and services to accommodate various levels of physical ability and healthcare needs. It manages communities on behalf of others. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.

Characteristics of the United States housing inventory listed in this file include the age, size, and type of living quarters, property values, and the presence of commercial establishments on the property. Additional data focus on the presence and condition of kitchen and plumbing facilities and the type and cost of utilities, as well as housing expenses, property repair or alteration, and insurance costs. Many of the same characteristics are given for housing previously occupied by recent movers. Information on age, sex, race, marital status, and income is provided for each household member, with additional data on education, Spanish origin, and household tenure for the head of household. Indicators provided for housing quality include privacy and structural condition. For neighborhood quality, indicators assess noise, crime, air quality, and the presence of abandoned structures, along with the adequacy of neighborhood services such as police protection, parks, health care, and public transportation.

This paper revisits the assessment of living standards in the United States from its founding to the present, challenging the conventional portrayal of economic well-being during wartime periods. Reflecting multiple criticisms made of the quality of national accounts which include defense spending during times of both peace and war, we employ the methodological framework established by Higgs (1992) and extended by Geloso and Pender (2023) to correct national accounts by subtracting military expenditures from GDP and GNP data. This rectifies the overstatement of living standards attributed to defense spending. Our analysis uses comprehensive data from the Historical Statistics of the United States and the Measuring Worth database, adjusting for price controls during World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War using a corrected price deflator based on a regression model of economic indicators. The study finds that traditional measures significantly overstate living standards during the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. Post-World War II analysis reveals a persistent overestimation of living standards, particularly pronounced during the Vietnam War years. More importantly, our results provide nuanced insights into certain stylized facts of trends in American improvements of living standards (notably inequality and the Great Depression).

If a consumer wishes to protect her retirement account from the risk of price changes in order to sustain a stable standard of living, then what price index should the account be indexed to? This paper constructs a dynamic price index (DPI) that answers this question. Unlike the existing theory on price indices (which is static and certain), the DPI measures the cost of living for a consumer who lives for many periods and faces uncertainty. The first contribution of this research is to define this price index and study its theoretical properties. Like static price indices, the DPI is: independent of wealth, homogeneous of degree 1 in all prices, and higher if prices rise at a faster rate. Unlike static price indices, the DPI: is forward-looking, is affected by intertemporal substitution, responds by more to persistent shocks, includes assets prices, and distinguishes between durable and non-durable goods prices. The second contribution of the paper is to construct a DPI for the United States from 1970 to 2004. It differs markedly from the CPI in that: it is less serially correlated, more volatile, and a large part of its movements are driven by changes in the prices of houses and bonds. Both in theory and in practice, this paper finds that considering dynamics, intertemporal smoothing and uncertainty leads to a novel and strikingly different measure of the cost of living.