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 2019, the state of California had the least affordable child care for school-aged children. The cost of care is presented as a percentage of state median income for a two-parent family. A two-parent family, living in the state, spent 19 percent of their median income for full-time care of a school-aged child in a child care center.

In 2024, the annual cost for a private room in an assisted living facility in the U.S. amounted to 70,800 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.

In the United States, Hawaii was the state with the most expensive housing, with the typical value of single-family homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range exceeding 981,000 U.S. dollars. Unsurprisingly, Hawaii also ranked top as the state with the highest cost of living. Meanwhile, a property was the least expensive in West Virginia, where it cost under 167,000 U.S. dollars to buy the typical single-family home. Single-family home prices increased across most states in the United States between December 2023 and December 2024, except in Louisiana, Florida, and the District of Colombia. According to the Federal Housing Association, house appreciation in 13 states exceeded nine percent in 2023.

This statistic shows the best states to make living in the United States in 2019. In 2019, Wyoming was ranked as the best state to make a living in the United States, with the cost of living index at 90.5 value and the median income of 40,240 U.S. dollars.

Of the most populous cities in the U.S., San Jose, California had the highest annual income requirement at 288,953 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 87,991 U.S. dollars in 2024.

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.

Alaska, Hawaii, and Connecticut were the states with the highest average monthly utility costs in the United States in 2023. Residents paid about 133.89 U.S. dollars for their electricity bills in Hawaii, while the average monthly bill for natural gas came to 164 U.S. dollars. This was significantly higher than in any other state. Bigger homes have higher utility costs Despite regional variations, single-family homes in the United States have grown bigger in size since 1975. This trend also means that, unless homeowners invest in energy savings measures, they will have to pay more for their utility costs. Which are the most affordable states to live in? According to the cost of living index, the three most affordable states to live in are Mississippi, Kansas, and Oklahoma. At the other end of the scale are Hawaii, District of Columbia, and New York. The index is based on housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services. To buy a median priced home in Kansas City, a prospective home buyer will have to earn an annual salary of about 76,000 U.S. dollars.

The County Health Rankings, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, measure the health of nearly all counties in the nation and rank them within states. This feature layer contains 2022 County Health Rankings data for nation, state, and county levels. The Rankings are compiled using county-level measures from a variety of national and state data sources. Some example measures are:adult smokingphysical inactivityflu vaccinationschild povertydriving alone to workTo see a full list of variables, as well as their definitions and descriptions, explore the Fields information by clicking the Data tab here in the Item Details. These measures are standardized and combined using scientifically-informed weights."By ranking the health of nearly every county in the nation, County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR&R) illustrates how where we live affects how well and how long we live. CHR&R also shows what each of us can do to create healthier places to live, learn, work, and play – for everyone."Counties are ranked within their state on both health outcomes and health factors. Counties with a lower (better) health outcomes ranking than health factors ranking may see the health of their county decline in the future, as factors today can result in outcomes later. Conversely, counties with a lower (better) factors ranking than outcomes ranking may see the health of their county improve in the future.Some new variables in the 2022 Rankings data compared to previous versions:COVID-19 age-adjusted mortalitySchool segregationSchool funding adequacyGender pay gapChildcare cost burdenChildcare centersLiving wage (while the Living wage measure was introduced to the CHRR dataset in 2022 from the Living Wage Calculator, it is not available in the Living Atlas dataset and user’s interested in the most up to date living wage data can look that up on the Living Wage Calculator website).Data Processing Notes:Data downloaded April 2022Slight modifications made to the source data are as follows:The string " raw value" was removed from field labels/aliases so that auto-generated legends and pop-ups would only have the measure's name, not "(measure's name) raw value" and strings such as "(%)", "rate", or "per 100,000" were added depending on the type of measure.Percentage and Prevalence fields were multiplied by 100 to make them easier to work with in the map.Ratios were set to null if negative to make them easier to work with in the map.For demographic variables, the word "numerator" was removed and the word "population" was added where appropriate.Fields dropped from analytic data file: yearall fields ending in "_cihigh" and "_cilow"and any variables that are not listed in the sources and years documentation.Analytic data file was then merged with state-specific ranking files so that all county rankings and subrankings are included in this layer.2010 US boundaries were used as the data contain 2010 US census geographies, for a total of 3,142 counties.

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. Supplements provide information on second homes, mobility, and energy assistance. (Source: downloaded from ICPSR 7/13/10)

Please Note: This dataset is part of the historical CISER Data Archive Collection and is also available at ICPSR at https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09363.v1. We highly recommend using the ICPSR version as they may make this dataset available in multiple data formats in the future.

This statistic illustrates the most popular social networks among Millennials for finding the most relevant content on the cost of living crisis in the United States in 2023. According to a survey by We Are Social and Statista Q, 61 percent of Millennials who use TikTok find the most relevant content over there, followed by another 59 percent of the consumers who use YouTube.

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.

As of September 2024, Mumbai had the highest cost of living among other cities in the country, with an index value of 26.5. Gurgaon, a satellite city of Delhi and part of the National Capital Region (NCR) followed it with an index value of 25.1.  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.

The gross domestic product (GDP) of California was about 3.23 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023, meaning that it contributed the most out of any state to the country’s GDP in that year. In contrast, Vermont had the lowest GDP in the United States, with 35.07 billion U.S. dollars. What is GDP? Gross domestic product, or GDP, is the total monetary value of all goods and services produced by an economy within a certain time period. GDP is used by economists to determine the economic health of an area, as well as to determine the size of the economy. GDP can be determined for countries, states and provinces, and metropolitan areas. While GDP is a good measure of the absolute size of a country's economy and economic activity, it does account for many other factors, making it a poor indicator for measuring the cost or standard of living in a country, or for making cross-country comparisons. GDP of the United States The United States has the largest gross domestic product in the world as of 2023, with China, Japan, Germany, and India rounding out the top five. The GDP of the United States has almost quadrupled since 1990, when it was about 5.9 trillion U.S. dollars, to about 25.46 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022.

This map shows the median household income in the U.S. in 2017 in a multiscale map by country, state, county, ZIP Code, tract, and block group. Median household income is estimated for 2017 in current dollars, including an adjustment for inflation or cost-of-living increases.The pop-up is configured to include the following information for each geography level:Median household incomeMedian household income by age of householderCount of households by income level (Householder age 15 to 24)Count of households by income level (Householder age 25 to 34)Count of households by income level (Householder age 35 to 44)Count of households by income level (Householder age 45 to 54)Count of households by income level (Householder age 55 to 64)Count of households by income level (Householder age 65 to 74)Count of households by income level (Householder age 75 plus)The data shown is from Esri's 2017 Updated Demographic estimates using Census 2010 geographies. The map adds increasing level of detail as you zoom in, from state, to county, to ZIP Code, to tract, to block group data. Esri's U.S. Updated Demographic (2017/2022) Data - Population, age, income, sex, race, home value, and marital status are among the variables included in the database. Each year, Esri's Data Development team employs its proven methodologies to update more than 2,000 demographic variables for a variety of U.S. geographies.Data Note: The median household income value divides the distribution of household income into two equal parts. Pareto interpolation is used if the median falls in an income interval other than the first or last. For the lowest interval, <$10,000, linear interpolation is used. If the median falls in the upper income interval of $500,000+, it is represented by the value of $500,001.

Zurich, Lausanne, and Geneva were ranked as the most expensive cities worldwide with indices of ************************ Almost half of the 11 most expensive cities were in Switzerland.

Housing and residential status. Residential area and social structure. Mobility and economic situation. Employment. Election decision and participation.

Topics: 1. Housing and residential status: size of place (degree of urbanisation); location; duration of residence; satisfaction with the place of residence; duration of residence in the apartment; distance before moving into the current apartment; previous place of residence; previous location; residential status of the previous apartment and reasons for moving; main reason for moving; current apartment itself sought, obtained by exchange or assignment; residential status of the current apartment; social housing; owner of the apartment; only one family in the house or several households; rent amount; rent including costs for heating and hot water; amount of the flat rate for heating and hot water; average costs for heating and hot water and payment period; rent includes modernization levy; amount of the modernization levy in total or per sqm; adequacy of rental costs; receipt of housing allowance; amount of monthly housing allowance; living space; number of rooms; assessment of the apartment size; apartment equipment; apartment equipment corresponds to the needs; year of construction of the house; assessment of the structural condition of the house; satisfaction with the apartment.

1. Residential area and social structure: satisfaction with the immediate residential environment; satisfaction with the environmental conditions in the residential environment; relationship with neighbours; social structure: foreigners in the residential environment; percentage of foreigners in the residential environment; assessment of the relationship between foreigners and Germans in the residential environment; attitude towards the spatial separation of Germans and foreigners; personal contacts with foreigners in the family, at work, in the neighbourhood or among friends and acquaintances.

2. Mobility: intention to move; reasons for the intention to move; main reason for the intention to move; preference for moving (target area); preference for old or new federal states; assessment of current and future personal economic situation; change in personal economic situation since one year.

3. Employment: employment status; job security; commute; life satisfaction.

4. Electoral decision and participation: eligibility to vote in the last federal election; participation in the last federal election and election decision (second vote); party preference (Sunday question) or party most likely to be considered.

Demography: sex: age (month of birth and year of birth); highest school leaving certificate or targeted school leaving certificate; age at school leaving certificate; vocational education or training certificate; current or former employment; full-time or part-time employment; current or last employment position; current or last employment activity; employment in the public sector; marital status; cohabitation with a partner; self-assessment of class; religious denomination; church affiliation of the respondent and parents; participation in religious education; household size; net income of the respondent; number of children in the household and age of these children; number of persons in the household over 18 years with German citizenship; number of persons in the household who contribute to the household income; number of persons employed in the household; household net income; telephone connection in the household.

Interviewer rating: residential house type; residential area type; presence of other persons during the interview; intervention of persons present in the interview; willingness of the respondent to cooperate; reliability of respondent’s information.

Additionally coded was: ID BBSR; split; respondent-ID; serial no.; state; government district; city size (political community size); interview date; interviewer sex; interviewer age; interviewer-ID.

In 2023, the real median household income in the state of Alabama was 60,660 U.S. dollars. The state with the highest median household income was Massachusetts, which was 106,500 U.S. dollars in 2023. The average median household income in the United States was at 80,610 U.S. dollars.

Housing and residential status. Residential area and social structure. Mobility and economic situation. Employment. Election decision and participation.

Topics: 1. Housing and residential status: size of the place of residence (degree of urbanisation); location; duration of residence; satisfaction with the place of residence; duration of residence in the apartment; distance before moving into the current apartment; previous place of residence; former federal state (old FRG, former GDR or outside the current FRG); move into the current apartment before 1991, 1991 or later; residential status of the previous apartment; living space of the previous apartment; number of rooms of the previous apartment; size of household of the previous apartment; reasons for moving; most important reason for moving; move out of the previous apartment was from the parental home; residential status of the current apartment; one or more households in the house; residence entitlement certificate required; owner of the apartment; rent; rent including costs for heating and hot water; amount of the lump sum for heating and hot water (or for heating and hot water separately); average costs for heating and hot water and payment period; rent includes modernisation levy; amount of modernisation levy in total or per sqm; adequacy of rental costs; withdrawal of housing allowance; amount of monthly housing allowance; living space; number of rooms; assessment of apartment size; apartment furnishing; apartment equipment meets needs; year of construction of the house; assessment of the structural condition of the house; satisfaction with the apartment.

1. Residential area and social structure: satisfaction with the immediate residential environment; social structure: foreigners in the residential environment; proportion of foreigners in their own residential area compared to other residential areas; foreigners have been living in the residential area or have recently moved in; new relocated foreigners are predominantly ethnic German immigrants, refugees or have been living in Germany for some time; relationship between foreigners and Germans in the residential environment; attitude towards the spatial separation of Germans and foreigners; personal contacts to foreigners in the family, at work, in the neighbourhood or in the neighbourhood. among friends and acquaintances; assessment of assistance for foreigners (simple entry aids, more extensive integration measures or renouncement of such assistance).

2. Mobility: intention to move; reasons for moving; most important reason for moving; preference of moving (target area); assessment of current and future personal economic situation; change in personal economic situation for one year.

3. Employment: employment status; job security.

4. Election decision and participation: eligibility to vote in the last fedral election; participation in the last federal election and election decision (second vote); party preference (Sunday question) or party most likely to be considered.

Demography: sex: age (month of birth and year of birth); highest school leaving certificate or targeted school leaving certificate; age at school leaving certificate; vocational education or training certificate; current or former employment; full-time or part-time employment; current or last employment position; current or last employment activity; employment in the public sector; marital status; cohabitation with a partner; self-assessment of class; religious denomination or respectively Religious community; closeness to the church; assessment of the living environment; household size; net income of the respondent; number of children in the household and age of these children; number of persons in the household over 18 years of German citizenship; number of persons in the household who contribute to the household income; number of persons employed in the household; net household income; place of residence before 1989; German citizenship; telephone connection in the household.

Interviewer rating: housing type; residential area type; interview with the respondent alone or presence of third parties during the interview; intervention of third parties in the interview; responsiveness of the respondent; reliability of the respondent´s data; sex, age and education of the interviewer; number of interviews on point; number of telephone and personal contacts and contact attempts; interview in the old or the new federal states.

Additionally coded was: ID BBSR; split; respondent ID; federal state; government district; city size (political community size, BIK/Boustedt); interview date; interview duration; interviewer ID; weighting factors.

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.