CICostIndexUSA

Official BEA · Census · Zillow data

Compare the Real Cost of Living Between Any U.S. City

Housing, groceries, transportation, healthcare — based on official BEA and Census data. Not crowd-sourced guesses.

295 cities
43,365 comparisons
Official government data

Popular City Comparisons

Most-searched city pairs

Austin vs Nashville
→
TX 98.1TN 96.3
New York vs Los Angeles
→
NY 112.6CA 113.6
San Francisco vs Seattle
→
CA 115.6WA 111.1
Chicago vs Houston
→
IL 103.6TX 98.6
Denver vs Phoenix
→
CO 105.8AZ 103.3
Dallas vs Charlotte
→
TX 103.1NC 97.3
Portland vs Denver
→
OR 105.4CO 105.8

Most Affordable Cities

Cost index below U.S. average (100)

1
Monroe, LA
$1,225/mo rent
83.6
2
Shreveport, LA
$1,350/mo rent
84.8
3
Joplin, MO
$1,300/mo rent
85.7
4
Fort Smith, AR
$1,075/mo rent
85.9
5
Jonesboro, AR
$1,375/mo rent
85.9
6
Lake Charles, LA
$1,325/mo rent
85.9
7
McAllen, TX
$1,125/mo rent
85.9
8
Brownsville, TX
$1,450/mo rent
86

Most Expensive Cities

Cost index above U.S. average (100)

1
Fremont, CA
$3,375/mo rent
115.6
2
San Francisco, CA
$3,375/mo rent
115.6
3
Fort Lauderdale, FL
$2,675/mo rent
114.2
4
Hialeah, FL
$2,675/mo rent
114.2
5
Pembroke Pines, FL
$2,675/mo rent
114.2
6
Anaheim, CA
$2,550/mo rent
113.6
7
Garden Grove, CA
$2,550/mo rent
113.6
8
Glendale, CA
$2,550/mo rent
113.6

Browse by State

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About Our Data

🏛️
Official Government Data

All cost indices come from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities — the same data economists use.

📊
Continuously Updated

Housing data refreshes monthly from Zillow Research; cost indices update with each annual BEA and Census ACS release.

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Transparent Methodology

Salary equivalency uses the standard BEA formula: salary × (index B ÷ index A). No black boxes.