Goods Prices by State 2024

What this chart shows. The price level of consumer goods, from food and clothing to cars and household items, in each state and the District of Columbia in 2024, against a national average of 100. Hawaii is the most expensive at 111.6, followed by New York at 107.3 and New Jersey at 107.1. Arkansas is the cheapest at 93.6, with Ohio, Louisiana and Iowa all at 93.7.

How the data is collected. Goods prices come from the price quotes behind the Consumer Price Index. Because that index was built to track prices over time rather than to compare places, the items priced in different cities are not always identical; for the 40 largest item groups, which account for roughly 35% of spending weights, BEA adjusts for differences in the items with hedonic regressions before comparing their prices.

Background. Goods prices vary much less than rents or utilities: only 12 of the 51 areas are above the national average, and the whole range from Arkansas to Hawaii is 18.0 points. Hawaii and Alaska, the two states outside the lower 48, both rank in the top five for goods prices, and Alaska's goods level of 106.3 is higher than its overall price level of 102.4.

Limits. Prescription drugs are given the national price level in every state, so local differences in what patients pay for medicines are not captured. The prices are averages for each state, so they do not show differences between stores, between neighbourhoods or between cities and the countryside within a state.