Cost of Living by City, 2026

This page ranks the 100 U.S. metro areas in our dataset by cost-of-living index, from most to least expensive. An index of 100 represents the national average, so a city at 120 costs about 20% more than average for a comparable lifestyle, and a city at 85 costs about 15% less. Select any city for its full page.

Each city page turns the index into dollar estimates: a monthly budget split into housing, groceries, transportation, healthcare, utilities and other spending, single-adult and family-of-four versions, the salary you would need to match the national standard of living, and the state income tax picture. Housing is weighted to move more than the index itself, because it is the category that varies most between cities.

These are modeled estimates for planning and comparison, not surveyed prices, and an index compresses a lot of detail into one number. The methodology page explains what is and is not included. Comparing two specific cities? Try our city comparisons.

Most-viewed cities

Ranked against all 100 metros.

Rank	City	COL index	State income tax
1	San Jose, CA	214	Yes
4	New York City, NY	187	Yes
6	San Francisco, CA	179	Yes
8	Seattle, WA	172	None
10	Los Angeles, CA	166	Yes
14	San Diego, CA	160	Yes
15	Boston, MA	152	Yes
16	Washington, DC	152	Yes
19	Denver, CO	128	Yes
27	Atlanta, GA	114	Yes
29	Austin, TX	112	None
35	Chicago, IL	107	Yes
38	Nashville, TN	106	None
42	Dallas, TX	104	None
52	Phoenix, AZ	103	Yes
57	Philadelphia, PA	102	Yes
63	Charlotte, NC	98	Yes
69	Houston, TX	96	None
85	Indianapolis, IN	92	Yes
87	San Antonio, TX	91	None

All other cities

Ranked against all 100 metros.

Rank	City	COL index	State income tax
2	Fremont, CA	195	Yes
3	Honolulu, HI	192	Yes
5	Oakland, CA	179	Yes
7	Irvine, CA	175	Yes
9	Long Beach, CA	166	Yes
11	Anaheim, CA	165	Yes
12	Santa Ana, CA	165	Yes
13	Chula Vista, CA	160	Yes
17	Jersey City, NJ	135	Yes
18	Portland, OR	130	Yes
20	Miami, FL	128	None
21	Anchorage, AK	127	None
22	Newark, NJ	125	Yes
23	Sacramento, CA	125	Yes
24	Riverside, CA	118	Yes
25	Hialeah, FL	116	None
26	Aurora, CO	115	Yes
28	Stockton, CA	113	Yes
30	Scottsdale, AZ	112	Yes
31	Baltimore, MD	108	Yes
32	Minneapolis, MN	108	Yes
33	Plano, TX	108	None
34	Reno, NV	108	None
36	Fresno, CA	107	Yes
37	Madison, WI	106	Yes
39	St. Paul, MN	106	Yes
40	Virginia Beach, VA	105	Yes
41	Bakersfield, CA	104	Yes
43	Henderson, NV	104	None
44	Irving, TX	104	None
45	Las Vegas, NV	104	None
46	Boise, ID	103	Yes
47	Chandler, AZ	103	Yes
48	Colorado Springs, CO	103	Yes
49	Gilbert, AZ	103	Yes
50	Glendale, AZ	103	Yes
51	Mesa, AZ	103	Yes
53	Raleigh, NC	103	Yes
54	St. Petersburg, FL	103	None
55	Tampa, FL	103	None
56	Durham, NC	102	Yes
58	Chesapeake, VA	101	Yes
59	Orlando, FL	101	None
60	North Las Vegas, NV	100	None
61	Richmond, VA	99	Yes
62	Arlington, TX	98	None
64	Fort Worth, TX	98	None
65	Garland, TX	98	None
66	New Orleans, LA	97	Yes
67	Norfolk, VA	97	Yes
68	Spokane, WA	97	None
70	Kansas City, MO	96	Yes
71	Milwaukee, WI	96	Yes
72	Pittsburgh, PA	96	Yes
73	Tucson, AZ	96	Yes
74	Jacksonville, FL	95	None
75	Albuquerque, NM	94	Yes
76	Lincoln, NE	94	Yes
77	Cincinnati, OH	93	Yes
78	Cleveland, OH	93	Yes
79	Columbus, OH	93	Yes
80	Lexington, KY	93	Yes
81	Omaha, NE	93	Yes
82	Baton Rouge, LA	92	Yes
83	Buffalo, NY	92	Yes
84	Greensboro, NC	92	Yes
86	Louisville, KY	91	Yes
88	St. Louis, MO	91	Yes
89	Corpus Christi, TX	90	None
90	Detroit, MI	89	Yes
91	Oklahoma City, OK	89	Yes
92	Winston-Salem, NC	89	Yes
93	Wichita, KS	88	Yes
94	Fort Wayne, IN	87	Yes
95	Lubbock, TX	86	None
96	Memphis, TN	86	None
97	Tulsa, OK	86	Yes
98	El Paso, TX	85	None
99	Toledo, OH	85	Yes
100	Laredo, TX	83	None