- Even with the first monthly decline in CPI since 2020, inflation remains stubborn, more so in some U.S. states than in others.
- The high cost of living is reflected not only in basic goods, food and energy. It is also boosting the cost of housing and insurance.
- CNBC’s annual competitiveness study, America’s Top States for Business, finds some states far more expensive than others.
Inflation has loosened its grip considerably from a high of more than 9% in the wake of the pandemic. The first monthly decline since May 2020 in the June CPI reflects the progress bringing down prices. But it is still holding onto Americans' wallets, and in some places tighter than others.
The cost of living can vary widely from state to state. Not only does that affect everyone's family budget, but it is affects companies' decisions about where to locate. Setting up shop in a place where people's dollars go further can be a great way to attract employees and customers.
That is why CNBC considers cost of living in determining America's Top States for Business — our annual study of state competitiveness. Under our 2024 methodology, We rate the states based on an index of prices for a broad range of goods and services calculated by the Council for Community and Economic Research, C2ER. We also consider housing affordability, which is still an issue across the country. And, new in 2024, with a growing insurance crisis, we consider the cost to insure a median-priced home based on the most recent available data.
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In some states, life is a relative bargain. But not in these states.
Here are America's ten most expensive states, along with the cost of some basic items in their most expensive metro areas.
10. Utah
Home affordability is an issue in practically every state, but few places have it worse than The Beehive State, where the supply of homes has simply not kept up with the influx of new residents. A four-bedroom house in St. George costs roughly two-and-a-half times what it would in McAllen, Texas.
Money Report
Most proposals to address the issue have focused on increasing housing supply. Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, has set a goal of creating 35,000 new starter homes by 2028.
But the nonprofit Utah Foundation argued in a report last month that the solutions must go beyond building more single family homes. The report says strategies could include more condominiums, restricting short-term rentals, and putting a tax on house flippers, all of which the organization concedes have little chance of passing.
2024 Cost of Living Score: 16 out of 50 points (Top States Grade: D+)
Consumer Price Index (June, West Region, Mountain Division): Up 2.3%
Annual Homeowners Insurance (statewide): $1,394
Average Home Price (Salt Lake City): $642,170
Half Gallon of Almond Milk: $4.71
Monthly Energy Bill: $173.85
9. (tie) Florida
The Sunshine State is the epicenter of the national insurance crisis. Climate risks from intensifying hurricanes, rising construction and materials costs, and a flood of litigation sent dozens of insurance companies packing. Several others went out of business. The result, for homeowners, was the nation's highest premiums. The state's insurance company of last resort, Citizens, became the only resort for many Floridians. The number of Citizens policyholders has doubled in just two years to more than 1.2 million, according to the insurer, which recently asked for a 14% rate increase.
Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a tort reform measure aimed at curbing policyholder lawsuits that Citizens says have "decimated" the private insurance industry. The hope is that the measure will lure insurers back, and lower premiums.
2024 Cost of Living Score: 12 out of 50 points (Top States Grade: D-)
Consumer Price Index (June, South Region, South Atlantic Division): Up 2.9%
Annual Homeowners Insurance (statewide): $2,474
Average Home Price (Fort Lauderdale): $741,832
Half Gallon of Almond Milk: $4.58
Monthly Energy Bill: $200.94
9. (tie) New York
It can cost a king's ransom to make ends meet in The Empire State. Housing in Manhattan costs nearly ten times what it would in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and a burger will cost you twice what it would in Las Vegas.
According to the Labor Department, prices are leveling off. The price of eating out in New York City is up about 3.5% from a year ago. At this time last year, it was up 7% from a year ago. But it is still expensive.
The cost of homeowners insurance is rising, but it is still less expensive than in many parts of the country.
2024 Cost of Living Score: 12 out of 50 points (Top States Grade: D-)
Consumer Price Index (June, Northeast Region, Middle Atlantic Division): Up 3.8%
Annual Homeowners Insurance (statewide): $1,498
Average Home Price (Manhattan): $2,683,148
Half Gallon of Almond Milk: $4.78
Monthly Energy Bill: $193.78
9. (tie) Rhode Island
The cost to rent a two-bedroom apartment in Providence is roughly three times the rent for a comparable place in Erie, Pennsylvania, which means costs in The Ocean State could quickly leave you underwater. The nonprofit First Street Foundation says 99.5% of this coastal state is at risk of a major climate disaster. That helps explain why homeowners insurance premiums are so high. Claims payments from the National Flood Insurance Program jumped more than 20% last year alone.
2024 Cost of Living Score: 12 out of 50 points (Top States Grade: D-)
Consumer Price Index (June, Northeast Region, Middle Atlantic Division): Up 3.8%
Annual Homeowners Insurance (statewide): $1,646
Average Home Price (Providence): $495,603
Half Gallon of Almond Milk: $4.74
Monthly Energy Bill: $230.62
9. (tie) Washington
Quality of life in The Evergreen State is among the finest in the nation, according to our Top States study. Unfortunately, you will pay dearly to experience it. Even the basics are more expensive, like a half gallon of almond milk, which will cost you nearly 15% more in Seattle than Ponca City, Oklahoma. (Accounting for changing consumer preferences, C2ER now tracks almond milk instead of cow's milk in its basket of basic food items.)
With heightened risk from wildfires and Pacific Northwest storms, homeowners insurance premiums on a median priced home in Washington are the 17th highest in the country.
2024 Cost of Living Score: 12 out of 50 points (Top States Grade: D-)
Consumer Price Index (June, West Region, Pacific Division, year-over-year change): Up 3.0%
Annual Homeowners Insurance (statewide): $1,506
Average Home Price (Seattle): $1,014,801
Half Gallon of Almond Milk: $5.10
Monthly Energy Bill: $193.41
5. (tie) Colorado
While Florida, California and Texas capture most of the headlines about the insurance crisis, premiums are highest in The Centennial State when measured by the cost to insure a median priced home.
"Mother Nature is not slowing down. Call it climate change — whatever you want. All we know is, in 2023, we had record-breaking catastrophes," Carole Walker of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, or RMIIA, told KOAA-TV earlier this year.
Colorado ranks second in the nation for hail claims, and second for wildfire risk, according to RMIIA.
Colorado has joined states like California and Florida in creating an insurer of last resort for homeowners who can't get insurance, but the Colorado FAIR Plan won't start operating until next year.
2024 Cost of Living Score: 10 out of 50 points (Top States Grade: F)
Consumer Price Index (June, West Region, Mountain Division): Up 2.3%
Annual Homeowners Insurance (statewide): $2,650
Average Home Price (Denver): $650,770
Half Gallon of Almond Milk: $4.74
Monthly Energy Bill: $145.02
5. (tie) Montana
During the Great Migration resulting from the pandemic, thousands of people flocked to Montana. The result is that Big Sky Country has some big housing prices, and a serious housing affordability crisis. In fact, based on National Association of Realtors statistics, Montana has the least affordable housing in the country. And, with growing risks from climate-related disasters like wildfires, insurance is getting pricey as well.
As in many states, there are calls to address the short supply of homes by encouraging more multi-family dwellings. But that is sparking debate in a place that treasures its wide open spaces.
2024 Cost of Living Score: 10 out of 50 points (Top States Grade: F)
Consumer Price Index (June, West Region, Mountain Division): Up 2.3%
Annual Homeowners Insurance (statewide): $1,755
Average Home Price (Bozeman): $792,008
Half Gallon of Almond Milk: $4.91
Monthly Energy Bill: $177.13
3. (tie) Hawaii
Want to live in paradise? It's going to cost you. Because almost everything in The Aloha State must be shipped in from someplace else, that expense gets baked into the price. So, a loaf of bread in Honolulu will set you back $5.34, compared to $3.66 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Housing is similarly unaffordable, with rent on a two-bedroom apartment approaching $4,000 per month. Only one in five households in the state can afford to buy a single family home, according to a report in May from the University of Hawaii.
The report notes that higher interest rates and the 2023 Maui wildfires have made the situation even worse.
2024 Cost of Living Score: 5 out of 50 (Top States Grade: F)
Consumer Price Index (June, West Region, Pacific Division): Up 3.0%
Annual Homeowners Insurance (statewide): $1,883
Average Home Price (Honolulu): $1,674,195
Half Gallon of Almond Milk: $5.38
Monthly Energy Bill: $359.53
3. (tie) Massachusetts
Hawaii has the excuse of being in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for its high cost of living. Massachusetts is just plain expensive. Much of that has to do with housing, including two-bedroom apartments going for about $4,000 per month, to average homes going for close to a million.
But other basics are pricey as well. A men's haircut will run you around $43, or twice the price in Shreveport, Louisiana.
If it's any consolation, The Bay State does pay the highest wages in the nation, according to Labor Department data.
2024 Cost of Living Score: 5 out of 50 (Top States Grade: F)
Consumer Price Index (June, Northeast Region, New England Division): Up 3.8%
Annual Homeowners Insurance (statewide): $2,226
Average Home Price (Boston): $960,671
Half Gallon of Almond Milk: $4.76
Monthly Energy Bill: $302.72
1. California
The Golden State is in a class by itself, and when it comes to the cost of living, aptly nicknamed. Why is it so expensive here?
In a state of 40 million people, virtually everyone is at risk of damage from a climate event (though only about 60% are at risk of a major disaster — fewer than many states). That, and a clunky regulatory system, has left California with an insurance crisis that rivals Florida's.
Energy prices are high, too. Gas prices are typically the highest in the nation, due in large part to taxes and environmental mandates.
But perhaps the biggest driver of high costs is the state's epic housing shortage. The California Department of Housing and Community Development estimates that over the past ten years, the state has added about 80,000 housing units per year, when it should have been building 180,000.
There are myriad efforts to address the shortage, including strict state mandates for local communities to increase their housing stock.
But this is a big state, and change takes time. Which means California will likely remain America's most expensive state to live in for some time to come.
2024 Cost of Living Score: 3 out of 50 points (Top States Grade: F)
Consumer Price Index (June, West Region, Pacific Division): Up 3.0%
Annual Homeowners Insurance (statewide): $2,124
Average Home Price (San Jose): $1,707,840
Half Gallon of Almond Milk: $5.05
Monthly Energy Bill: $294.74
This article has been updated to reflect the specific type of milk used in C2ER's pricing analysis.
