COST OF LIVING

How far does your salary go?

See how prices compare across all 50 states plus DC, and what salary you'd need in a different state to keep the same purchasing power.

Real, sourced data. Every figure on this page comes from a published federal or industry source (BEA, EIA, AAA, KFF, Redfin, and the Economic Policy Institute for county-level budgets), not an estimate. See "Where these numbers come from" at the bottom for exact figures, dates, and links.
All 50 states + DC

Overall cost of living by state

Hover a state for its full breakdown, or switch to "Required income" to click into its counties.

Cheaper Pricier U.S. average = 100

Salary comparison

Compare two states

Uses each state's overall Regional Price Parity (BEA): the same index BEA itself uses to compute "real" (cost-of-living-adjusted) income by state. This is a purchasing-power multiplier, so it scales to any salary.

Sector From To Difference

"Index" rows (overall, housing, groceries & goods, everyday services) are BEA Regional Price Parities: U.S. average = 100, not dollar amounts. The rest are real dollar/cents figures in their own units. Housing here is BEA's rent-index component; the median home price row below is a separate, real dollar figure for buyers.

Where these numbers come from

Regional Price Parities are the only state-level figure here computed as an index; every other state row is a real, independently-published number in its own unit. Gas and median home prices are point-in-time snapshots (prices move); electricity, health spending, and the RPP figures are the most recent annual data each publisher has released. The county map's dollar figures are EPI's own published budgets; its color index, and the state map's "Required income" mode, are the two numbers on this page this site itself computes, both from those real dollars (see the note under the map, and the toggle above it, for exactly how). This page does not use illustrative or placeholder data anywhere.

Keep reading
What Is Inflation and How Does It Work?
What CPI really measures, and nominal versus real value.
How Do Taxes Actually Work?
Brackets, marginal versus effective rate, and the other four taxes.
Rent vs. Buy Calculator
Your own breakeven point, on real county price and rent data.