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 Oklahoma, the cost of living index amounted to 84.7 — well below the national benchmark of 100. 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 2024, the average house sold for approximately 420,300 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, and Mississippi, the median price of the typical single-family home was less than 200,000 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 500 U.S. dollars. That was because of the significantly higher prices for electricity and natural gas in these states.

The consumer sentiment index in the United States stood at 53.3 in March 2026. This reflected a decrease of three points from the previous month. A recent low in consumer sentiment was recorded in November 2025, when the index fell to 51 points. The index is normalized to a value of 100 in December 1964 and based on a monthly survey of consumers conducted in the continental United States. It consists of about 50 core questions that cover consumers' assessments of their personal financial situation, their buying attitudes, and overall economic conditions.

Consumer Price Index CPI in the United States increased to 330.21 points in March from 326.79 points in February of 2026. 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.

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.

The USA: Cost of living index, world average = 100: The latest value from 2021 is 159.13 index points, an increase from 143.34 index points in 2017. In comparison, the world average is 79.81 index points, based on data from 165 countries. Historically, the average for the USA from 2017 to 2021 is 151.24 index points. The minimum value, 143.34 index points, was reached in 2017 while the maximum of 159.13 index points was recorded in 2021.

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.

In 2025, the annual average consumer price index (CPI) was ******. Data represents U.S. city averages. The CPI is a useful measure, as it indicates how the cost of urban living in the United States has changed over time, compared to a base period. CPI is also used to calculate inflation, or change in the purchasing power of money. United States urban consumer price index The U.S. consumer price index is a measure of change in the price of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The CPI is defined by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics as "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services." How is the CPI calculated? To calculate the CPI, the Bureau of Labor Statistics considers the price of goods and services from various categories: housing, transportation, apparel, food & beverage, medical care, recreation, education, and other/uncategorized.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy in U.S. City Average (CPILFESL) from Jan 1957 to Mar 2026 about core, headline figure, all items, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

Overall inflation stands at 2.7%, but the headline number masks divergent category pressures. Grocery prices are up 33% since January 2020. Auto insurance inflation runs 3.2pp above CPI. Healthcare costs have reaccelerated to 3.7% YoY.

View monthly updates and historical trends for US Consumer Price Index. from United States. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Track economic data with Y…

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.

View monthly updates and historical trends for US Consumer Price Index YoY. from United States. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Track economic data wi…

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.

View monthly updates and historical trends for US Inflation Rate. from United States. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Track economic data with YCharts…

In March 2026, the monthly annual inflation rate in the United States was 3.3 percent higher. This measure tracks how the average cost of a broad basket of goods and services changes over a 12-month period. Looking ahead, inflation is expected to ease, with the annual rate projected to fall to around 2.2 percent in 2027. Inflation and the consumer price index The consumer price index (CPI) sits at the heart of how America measures inflation. It tracks the cost of a representative basket of goods and services. In 2022, annual price growth surged by eight percent, driven first by COVID 19 disruptions and later by turmoil in energy and commodity markets after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The spike prompted the Federal Reserve to initiate a series of interest rate hikes to bring price growth back under control. Purchasing power parity Purchasing power parity (PPP) is a way of comparing currencies by what they can buy rather than by their exchange rates. It asks whether the same bundle of goods costs more in one country than another. The Big Mac Index uses the price of McDonald’s signature burger to illustrate how far different currencies stretch. In January 2025, a Big Mac cost about 5.79 U.S. dollars in the U.S. while in Switzerland it was 7.99 U.S. dollars. This implies that the Swiss franc buys less burger per dollar than the market exchange rate alone might suggest.

In 2023, the U.S. Consumer Price Index was 309.42, and is projected to increase to 352.27 by 2029. The base period was 1982-84. The monthly CPI for all urban consumers in the U.S. can be accessed here. After a time of high inflation, the U.S. inflation rateis projected fall to two percent by 2027. United States Consumer Price Index ForecastIt is projected that the CPI will continue to rise year over year, reaching 325.6 in 2027. The Consumer Price Index of all urban consumers in previous years was lower, and has risen every year since 1992, except in 2009, when the CPI went from 215.30 in 2008 to 214.54 in 2009. The monthly unadjusted Consumer Price Index was 296.17 for the month of August in 2022. The U.S. CPI measures changes in the price of consumer goods and services purchased by households and is thought to reflect inflation in the U.S. as well as the health of the economy. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates the CPI and defines it as, "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services." The BLS records the price of thousands of goods and services month by month. They consider goods and services within eight main categories: food and beverage, housing, apparel, transportation, medical care, recreation, education, and other goods and services. They aggregate the data collected in order to compare how much it would cost a consumer to buy the same market basket of goods and services within one month or one year compared with the previous month or year. Given that the CPI is used to calculate U.S. inflation, the CPI influences the annual adjustments of many financial institutions in the United States, both private and public. Wages, social security payments, and pensions are all affected by the CPI.

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Mean Real Household Wages Adjusted by Cost of Living for Lake County, OH (MWACL39085) from 2009 to 2023 about Lake County, OH; Cleveland; adjusted; OH; average; wages; real; and USA.

Consumer price index for all urban consumers, covering all items.

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

The average for 2021 based on 20 countries was 97.17 index points. The highest value was in Bermuda: 212.7 index points and the lowest value was in Nicaragua: 49.42 index points. The indicator is available from 2017 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.