Comparing a single state against the national average is the simplest possible cost-of-living question: is this state more or less expensive than the country as a whole, and by how much? This page answers exactly that, defaulting to the national baseline as the comparison point instead of a second specific place.
BEA fixes the national all-items index at exactly 100 by construction — every state and metro area is measured relative to that fixed reference point. A state at 110 runs about 10% above the national average; one at 90 runs about 10% below. The District of Columbia, loaded above by default, runs meaningfully above the national baseline, reflecting its high housing costs relative to the rest of the country.
Switch the comparison to any other state, or to a specific metro area, using the picker above — the national-average comparison is a useful starting point, but a place-to-place comparison is often more directly relevant once you have two specific options in mind.
Frequently asked questions
What does it mean if a state's index is above 100?
The state runs more expensive than the national average — an index of 110 means prices there run about 10% above average, across the same weighted basket of goods, services, and rent BEA uses for every place.
How is a state's index different from a metro area's index within that state?
A state's index averages across every metro area and rural county within it. A specific metro area inside that state can run well above or below the statewide figure — search for the metro directly if you need a more precise number.
Is the national baseline exactly 100 every year?
Yes, for the all-items index specifically — BEA defines the national all-items composite as exactly 100 by construction, every year. Component indices (like rents alone) are not pinned to exactly 100 the same way.
Model assumptions & disclosures
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 vintage. Every figure on this page comes from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis's Regional Price Parities (state table SARPP, metro table MARPP), released February 19, 2026. This is the same government data behind BEA's own real personal income statistics — not a third-party cost-of-living estimate. BEA's next release (the 2025 vintage) is scheduled for December 10, 2026; figures here will not reflect that update until this site's data is regenerated afterward.
Pre-tax — state and local income tax are not modeled. Regional Price Parities measure differences in the price of goods, services, and rent across places. They say nothing about what you'd actually keep after state or local income tax, sales tax, or property tax — all of which vary independently of cost of living and are real, separate factors in any relocation or job-offer decision.
The "Rent only" basis is a renters' index, not a homeowner's housing cost. BEA defines this series specifically: rents RPPs are estimated only for observed tenants' actual rents and an imputed rental-equivalent value for owner-occupied homes — they do not include a homeowner's own mortgage payment, property tax, insurance, or maintenance costs. If you own your home, switching to "Rent only" shows what a tenant pays in each place, not your own housing expense — it is never a stand-in for "housing costs" broadly.
Metro-area rents are a 3-year average, not a single-year snapshot. BEA estimates state-level rents from a single year of Census American Community Survey (ACS) data, but metro-area rents from a smoothed 3-year ACS average — metro areas are smaller geographies and need the extra years of data for a reliable sample. That smoothing is real: Coeur d'Alene, ID's metro rents index moved from 99.7 to 117.2 and back to 105.6 across the three years folded into the 2024 figure alone. A metro rents number is a multi-year average, not "as of 2024" the way the all-items and state figures are.
Not financial advice. This calculator provides an estimate to help you plan a comparison, not a guarantee of what you'd actually pay or earn in either place. Combine it with your own research — including actual job offers, tax rates, and cost quotes for your specific situation — before making a relocation or compensation decision.