Cities with the highest — and lowest — cost of living

[GON]

I always take these articles with huge skepticism, but the information can provide some ideas to help one dig deeper in search of the facts.


"Behold the "coastal tax": good and services tend to be more expensive in U.S. cities along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as compared to inland areas, per a new analysis.

The big picture: There are some exceptions, however — mostly in the mid- and south Atlantic.

Driving the news: Each quarter, the Council for Community and Economic Research assembles a cost-of-living index designed to measure "regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services."

• The group's proverbial bucket includes housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services, and is based on spending by "professional and managerial households in the top income quintile."
• The result: A snapshot in time useful for comparing relative costs across cities.

How it works: An index value of 100 represents the national average cost of living across 269 cities.

• If a city has a value over 100, its cost of living is higher than average. Under 100, lower than average.

By the numbers: Among cities with more than 100,000 residents, Honolulu (179.2), San Jose (171.3) and San Francisco (169.5) had the country's highest relative cost of living as of the third quarter of 2023.

• Residents of McAllen, Texas (80.2); Augusta, Georgia (82.8); and Amarillo, Texas (84.4) were enjoying the lowest cost of living.

Yes, but: If Manhattan were its own city, it would hold the top spot, at 227.8.




Zoom in: Looking just at relative grocery prices, San Francisco (122.4), Fairbanks (121.6) and Juneau (121.4) came in highest.

• The latter two make sense, given the higher cost of shipping goods to Alaska.
• Pierre, South Dakota (90.6); Houma, Louisiana (91.4); and Thibodaux, Louisiana (91.5) had the lowest relative grocery prices.

Of note: Because the list of participating cities changes each quarter, the cost-of-living index can't be used to measure inflation — but other indicators suggest that higher prices are certainly sticking around.

The bottom line: Looking to cut costs? Consider a move — especially if you're still working remotely and can carry a New York salary to, say, Amarillo."

https://www.axios.com/2023/11/09/lowest-highest-cost-of-living-cities-us-map

 

[99Saturn]

Thought this mention was interesting in the methodology:
based on spending by "professional and managerial households in the top income quintile."

Some more details around methodology for those that are interested:

http://c2c.coli.org/compare.asp?action=methodology

 

[Leo99]

I guess. It's nothing earth shattering that things cost more where it's more desirable to live.

 

[Lyman]

Im in San Diego 141.7

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Interesting that Philadelphia (102) costs less than Allentown (103)

Pittsburgh (98) seems too close to Philadelphia. i thought it would be lower, perhaps closer to Cleveland (89)

 

[Carmudgeon]

I guess. It's nothing earth shattering that things cost more where it's more desirable to live.

And once people discover the "hidden gems" and flock there, prices will rise in those places as well.

Rinse, recycle, repeat.

 

[andrew_j]

I guess. It's nothing earth shattering that things cost more where it's more desirable to live.

Also typically where average income supports is higher.

 

[Propflux01]

95.2 here in Arkansastan.

 

[wings&wheels]

Also typically where average income supports is higher.

Stronger economies, colleges/universities, better public school systems and, unfortunately many of these areas also have high tax burdens.

148 here.

 

[supton]

Manchester NH comes in at 115%, but it doesn't show Concord, and of course I don't live in either.