Cost of Living by State 2024

What this chart shows. The overall price level of consumer goods and services in each state and the District of Columbia in 2024, measured against the national average of 100. California is the most expensive state at 110.7, ahead of Hawaii at 110.0 and New Jersey at 108.8; the District of Columbia stands at 109.9. Arkansas is the cheapest at 86.9, just below Mississippi at 87.0, so the same basket of spending costs about 27% more in California than in Arkansas.

How the data is collected. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis builds these regional price parities from three sources: price quotes collected for the Consumer Price Index, more than a million a year across over 200 item groups; housing rents and utility costs from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey; and state spending patterns from its own consumer spending accounts. About 170 spending categories are priced for more than 3,000 counties and combined with the Geary multilateral formula. Since 2022, electricity and gas prices come from the Energy Information Administration's annual state tables.

Background. 16 states and the District of Columbia are above the national average. Between 2008 and 2024 Oregon gained the most ground relative to the nation, 5.6 points, while Connecticut lost the most, 6.8 points. From 2023 to 2024 the largest rises were in Montana, Idaho and Utah, and the largest fall was in Massachusetts. BEA published these figures on 19 February 2026 and lists the next release for 10 December 2026.

Limits. The index compares places within one year, so a change from one year to the next shows a state moving against the national average, not inflation. A few categories, including life insurance, hospitals, doctors' services and prescription drugs, are given the national price level everywhere. A state figure is an average that hides the gap between its expensive cities and cheaper rural areas.