CostIndexUSA

Compare the Real Cost of Living Between Any U.S. City

Housing, groceries, transportation, healthcare — based on official BEA and Census data. Not crowd-sourced guesses.

295 cities
43,365 comparisons
Official government data

Popular City Comparisons

Most-searched city pairs

Austin vs Nashville
TX · 98.1TN · 96.3
New York vs Los Angeles
NY · 112.6CA · 113.6
San Francisco vs Seattle
CA · 115.6WA · 111.1
Chicago vs Houston
IL · 103.6TX · 98.6
Denver vs Phoenix
CO · 105.8AZ · 103.3
Dallas vs Charlotte
TX · 103.1NC · 97.3
Portland vs Denver
OR · 105.4CO · 105.8

Most Affordable Cities

Cost index below U.S. average (100)

1
Monroe, LA
$1,100/mo rent
83.6
2
Shreveport, LA
$1,250/mo rent
84.8
3
Joplin, MO
$1,250/mo rent
85.7
4
Fort Smith, AR
$1,025/mo rent
85.9
5
Jonesboro, AR
$1,325/mo rent
85.9
6
Lake Charles, LA
$1,150/mo rent
85.9
7
McAllen, TX
$1,100/mo rent
85.9
8
Brownsville, TX
$1,425/mo rent
86

Most Expensive Cities

Cost index above U.S. average (100)

1
Fremont, CA
$3,075/mo rent
115.6
2
San Francisco, CA
$3,075/mo rent
115.6
3
Fort Lauderdale, FL
$2,650/mo rent
114.2
4
Hialeah, FL
$2,650/mo rent
114.2
5
Pembroke Pines, FL
$2,650/mo rent
114.2
6
Anaheim, CA
$2,550/mo rent
113.6
7
Garden Grove, CA
$2,550/mo rent
113.6
8
Glendale, CA
$2,550/mo rent
113.6

Browse by State

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About Our Data

🏛️ Official Government Data

All cost indices come from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities — the same data economists use.

📊 Annually Updated

We refresh all data annually when new BEA and Census ACS releases are published. Last updated: 2024.

🧮 Transparent Methodology

Salary equivalency uses the standard BEA formula: salary × (index B ÷ index A). No black boxes.