America's 5 Most and Least Expensive Cities - No surprise?the more a city has to offer, the more it costs to live there
How to Read the Numbers
The number that follows each city is its composite index score, with the average being 100. For example, with a composite index of 217.1, the cost of living in New York City is about 117 percent more than the cost of living in the average U.S. city. To extrapolate further, if you earned $100,000 per year in "Average City, U.S.A," you'd need to make $217,000 annually in Manhattan.
No. 1: New York, New York?217.1
No. 2: Jersey City, New Jersey?182.8
No. 3: San Francisco, California?169.8
No. 4: Stamford, Connecticut?163.2
No. 5: Honolulu, Hawaii?155.64
Four of the five least expensive metropolitan areas are in Texas. They include:
McAllen, Texas?84.3
Seguin, Texas?84.6
Laredo, Texas?85.0
Jonesboro, Arkansas?85.9
Lubbock, Texas?86.6
And besides metropolitan areas, the ACCRA also ranks 314 urban areas. Those with the highest cost of living are:
New York-Wayne-White Plains, NY-NJ?171.0
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA ?148.8
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA?143.8
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA?139.8
Washington-Arlington-Alexandra, DC-VA-MD-WV?138.8
Newark-Union, NJ-PA?132.9
Edison, NJ?131.4
Seattle, WA?122.9
Philadelphia, PA?120.8
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL?118.0
Using the most recent Cost of Living Index compiled by the ACCRA, a non-profit organization that researches community and economic development. The Arlington, Va.-based company compiles the index from a survey of 314 metropolitan areas of all sizes in North America, taking into account six primary expenses: groceries; housing; utilities; transportation; healthcare; and miscellaneous goods and services. (Note that it does not consider taxes.)
How to Read the Numbers
The number that follows each city is its composite index score, with the average being 100. For example, with a composite index of 217.1, the cost of living in New York City is about 117 percent more than the cost of living in the average U.S. city. To extrapolate further, if you earned $100,000 per year in "Average City, U.S.A," you'd need to make $217,000 annually in Manhattan.
No. 1: New York, New York?217.1
No. 2: Jersey City, New Jersey?182.8
No. 3: San Francisco, California?169.8
No. 4: Stamford, Connecticut?163.2
No. 5: Honolulu, Hawaii?155.64
Four of the five least expensive metropolitan areas are in Texas. They include:
McAllen, Texas?84.3
Seguin, Texas?84.6
Laredo, Texas?85.0
Jonesboro, Arkansas?85.9
Lubbock, Texas?86.6
And besides metropolitan areas, the ACCRA also ranks 314 urban areas. Those with the highest cost of living are:
New York-Wayne-White Plains, NY-NJ?171.0
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA ?148.8
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA?143.8
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA?139.8
Washington-Arlington-Alexandra, DC-VA-MD-WV?138.8
Newark-Union, NJ-PA?132.9
Edison, NJ?131.4
Seattle, WA?122.9
Philadelphia, PA?120.8
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL?118.0
Using the most recent Cost of Living Index compiled by the ACCRA, a non-profit organization that researches community and economic development. The Arlington, Va.-based company compiles the index from a survey of 314 metropolitan areas of all sizes in North America, taking into account six primary expenses: groceries; housing; utilities; transportation; healthcare; and miscellaneous goods and services. (Note that it does not consider taxes.)
