California Is America's Most Expensive State, Arkansas Its Least
California Is America's Most Expensive State, Arkansas Its Least
How far does a dollar really go across America?
As inflation has raised everything from housing costs to the price of eggs to record levels, consumers are feeling the burden. While tariffs stand to raise prices even further—although no meaningful signs in official data show this yet—price pressures have few signs of abating.
This graphic, https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-us-states-from-most-to-least-expensive/
.
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How Price Parity Compares Across America
To show the differences in prices across the country, the BEA compared each state to the national average, represented as 100 as of 2023.
State
Regional Price Parity (U.S. = 100)
California
113
Washington DC
111
New Jersey
109
Hawaii
109
Washington
109
Massachusetts
108
New York
108
New Hampshire
105
Oregon
105
Maryland
104
Connecticut
104
Florida
104
Alaska
102
Rhode Island
101
Colorado
101
Arizona
101
Virginia
101
Delaware
99
Illinois
99
Minnesota
98
Pennsylvania
98
Texas
97
Maine
97
Nevada
97
Georgia
97
Vermont
97
Utah
95
Michigan
94
North Carolina
94
South Carolina
93
Wisconsin
93
Tennessee
93
Indiana
92
Ohio
92
Missouri
92
Idaho
91
Wyoming
91
Kentucky
91
New Mexico
90
Nebraska
90
Montana
90
Alabama
90
Kansas
90
West Virginia
90
Iowa
89
North Dakota
89
Louisiana
88
Oklahoma
88
South Dakota
88
Mississippi
87
Arkansas
87
Ranking as the nation’s most expensive state, prices in California are 13% higher than the national average.
In particular, California’s housing rents are 58% higher overall, second-only to Washington, D.C.. at 69% in 2023. Typically, housing is the primary driver of price disparities across the country.
At the same time, Californians pay more for groceries than any other state—at around 10% higher than the U.S. average.
Ranking in third is New Jersey, driven largely by its proximity to New York. In addition to high housing costs, a separate report shows that people in the Garden State pay 32% more for household bills like utilities and health insurance than the U.S. average.
At the other end of the spectrum, southern states like Arkansas and Mississippi offer some of the lowest costs of living. In August 2024, the https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-median-home-sale-price-by-u-s-state/
in Arkansas was just $203,067 compared to the U.S. median of about $385,000. Beyond housing costs, daily expenses like transportation and utilities are also comparatively lower.
Similarly, median home prices in Mississippi stand at just $183,507, however, median household incomes fall below the national average, at $55,060.
To learn more about this topic from an affordability perspective, check out this https://www.voronoiapp.com/real-estate/Montana-Is-Americas-Least-Affordable-State--5078
on home affordability scores by U.S. state.
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Tue, 06/24/2025 - 22:10