Comparison tool

Compare cost of living

Pick two U.S. cities and compare regional price parity, rent, utilities, food, energy, and tax context side by side. BEA RPP rows are shown with their source grain so metro and state-level context is not presented as city-precise pricing.

Popular comparisons

The most-searched cost-of-living matchups, each a full sourced page.

BEA Regional Price Parities are regional indexes where 100 is the U.S. average. Housing rows use HUD FMR or budget housing labels when available; food uses USDA plan context; energy and taxes are state or regional summaries. See cost-of-living methodology.

Source detail for cost-of-living comparisons

Source detail: Regional price parity

Regional price parity

Source agency: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Dataset: BEA Regional Price Parities; OMB CBSA Delineation
Vintage / period: 2024 · released Feb 19, 2026; July 2023
Native geography: BEA metro-area or state RPP rows, with OMB county-to-CBSA delineation for metro matching.
Transformation: City county is matched to an MSA where available; nonmetro/state context is labeled at its source grain.

Known limit: Regional price index, not city-measured prices, not inflation, and not a single cost-of-living score.

Methodology Original source

Source detail: Rent benchmark

Rent benchmark

Source agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Dataset: HUD Fair Market Rents + Small Area Fair Market Rents
Vintage / period: FY2026 · annual
Native geography: HUD FMR-area records and SAFMR ZIP-grain records where HUD publishes ZIP-level values.
Transformation: Matched to city geography through ZIP/FMR-area or county fallback paths and labeled by source grain.

Known limit: Program rent benchmark, not a listing-rent feed or citywide median rent.

Methodology Original source

Source detail: Food budget reference

Food budget reference

Source agency: USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
Dataset: USDA Cost of Food Plans (Thrifty, Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, Liberal)
Vintage / period: Monthly · latest 2025
Native geography: USDA national food plan reference budgets by age/sex/family composition.
Transformation: Mapped to household compositions and adjusted only where the documented budget method calls for a price-level deflator.

Known limit: National reference budget, not observed local grocery prices.

Methodology Original source

Source detail: Energy price context

Energy price context

Source agency: U.S. Energy Information Administration
Dataset: EIA State Energy Prices
Vintage / period: Most-recent observation · monthly (electricity, natural gas) · weekly (gasoline)
Native geography: State electricity and natural-gas series, plus PADD-region gasoline series.
Transformation: Attached by city state or PADD region and converted into displayed household budget context where applicable.

Known limit: State or regional price context, not a city utility bill or real-time quote.

Methodology Original source

Source detail: State income tax model

State income tax model

Source agency: State Departments of Revenue (50 states + DC), with Tax Foundation cross-check
Dataset: State Departments of Revenue — Individual Income Tax Rate Schedules
Vintage / period: TY2025 · annual
Native geography: State tax schedules and standard deductions for each state and DC.
Transformation: Modeled through the documented tax solver for benchmark household compositions.

Known limit: Planning benchmark, not tax advice; household-specific credits, deductions, and local rules can differ.

Methodology Original source

Source detail: State and average local sales tax

State and average local sales tax

Source agency: Tax Foundation (population-weighted local averages) + state statute (state rate)
Dataset: Tax Foundation — State and Local Sales Tax Rates (annual)
Vintage / period: TY2025 · annual
Native geography: State statutory sales tax and population-weighted average local rates.
Transformation: Attached by state as resident context where sales-tax comparisons are shown.

Known limit: Average local rate, not the exact point-of-sale rate for a specific address or purchase.

Methodology Original source

Source detail: State and local tax burden context

State and local tax burden context

Source agency: U.S. Census Bureau, Economic Programs Directorate
Dataset: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances
Vintage / period: FY2022 · annual
Native geography: State-level state-plus-local government finance totals.
Transformation: Per-capita state context is attached to cities in that state for comparison rows and caveats.

Known limit: Statewide fiscal context, not the taxes paid by a specific household or municipality.

Methodology Original source