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The Most Expensive City in Every State

February 25, 2025

6 min Read

Written by Heather Taylor

Edited by Cory Dudak

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Depending where you live, the cost of living of your city can be well below or substantially higher — like Atherton, California, at 150% more — than the national average.

GOBankingRates was able to find the most expensive city in every state by selecting cities with populations over 10,000 from the U.S. Census American Community Survey. Each city’s cost-of-living index — including overall, grocery, healthcare, housing, utilities and transportation — was sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces.

In alphabetical order, check out each state’s most expensive city.

Also see America’s most expensive retirement towns.

Alabama: Wilsonville

Cost-of-living index: 100.1
State cost-of-living index: 84.1
% higher than state average: 19%
Average home value: $283,200

Alaska: Unalaska

Cost-of-living index: 136.4
State cost-of-living index: 116.5
% higher than state average: 17%
Average home value: $445,900

Arizona: Cameron

Cost-of-living index: 116.2
State cost-of-living index: 106.4
% higher than state average: 9%
Average home value: $125,900

Arkansas: Bentonville

Cost-of-living index: 91.6
State cost-of-living index: 77.5
% higher than state average: 18%
Average home value: $403,300

California: Atherton

Cost-of-living index: 250.0
State cost-of-living index: 149.9
% higher than state average: 67%
Average home value: $7,409,500

Colorado: Snowmass Village

Cost-of-living index: 220.4
State cost-of-living index: 120.5
% higher than state average: 83%
Average home value: $1,634,100

Today’s Top Offers

Connecticut: Bridgeport

Cost-of-living index: 138.6
State cost-of-living index: 11.8
% higher than state average: 24%
Average home value: $296,000

Delaware: Laurel

Cost-of-living index: 108.1
State cost-of-living index: 93.1
% higher than state average: 16%
Average home value: $245,900

Florida: Big Pine Key

Cost-of-living index: 148.2
State cost-of-living index: 103.1
% higher than state average: 44%
Average home value: $722,100

Georgia: Cumming

Cost-of-living index: 121.9
State cost-of-living index: 94.5
% higher than state average: 29%
Average home value: $517,600

Hawaii: Makakilo

Cost-of-living index: 171.5
State cost-of-living index: 165.7
% higher than state average: 3.5%
Average home value: $761,200

Idaho: Bellevue

Cost-of-living index: 134.2
State cost-of-living index: 105.5
% higher than state average: 27%
Average home value: $563,600

Illinois: Bartlett

Cost-of-living index: 108.1
State cost-of-living index: 93.7
% higher than state average: 15%
Average home value: $356,500

Indiana: Cicero

Cost-of-living index: 106.0
State cost-of-living index: 83.7
% higher than state average: 27%
Average home value: $330,500

Iowa: Perry

Cost-of-living index: 95.5
State cost-of-living index: 80.1
% higher than state average: 19%
Average home value: $139,400

Kansas: De Soto

Cost-of-living index: 106.2
State cost-of-living index: 83.1
% higher than state average: 28%
Average home value: $372,400

Kentucky: Buckner

Cost-of-living index: 107.1
State cost-of-living index: 82.3
% higher than state average: 30%
Average home value: $373,600

Louisiana: Port Sulphur

Cost-of-living index: 105.3
State cost-of-living index: 89.9
% higher than state average: 17%
Average home value: $117,200

Maine: Gorham

Cost-of-living index: 112.5
State cost-of-living index: 97
% higher than state average: 16%
Average home value: $447,200

Today’s Top Offers

Maryland: Bethesda

Cost-of-living index: 138.5
State cost-of-living index: 111.8
% higher than state average: 24%
Average home value: $1,072,100

Massachusetts: Siasconset

Cost-of-living index: 258.0
State cost-of-living index: 127.5
% higher than state average: 102%
Average home value: $2,332,800

Michigan: Fowlerville

Cost-of-living index: 109.7
State cost-of-living index: 91.5
% higher than state average: 20%
Average home value: $270,400

Minnesota: Chaska

Cost-of-living index: 112.9
State cost-of-living index: 97.2
% higher than state average: 16%
Average home value: $406,000

Mississippi: Flora

Cost-of-living index: 93.2
State cost-of-living index: 78.7
% higher than state average: 18%
Average home value: $243,600

Missouri: Parkville

Cost-of-living index: 98.4
State cost-of-living index: 90
% higher than state average: 9.3%
Average home value: $559,100

Montana: Belgrade

Cost-of-living index: 125.7
State cost-of-living index: 100
% higher than state average: 26%
Average home value: $520,600

Nebraska: Chalco

Cost-of-living index: 95.2
State cost-of-living index: 87.8
% higher than state average: 8.4%
Average home value: $182,800

Nevada: Gardnerville Ranchos

Cost-of-living index: 129.3
State cost-of-living index: 109.7
% higher than state average: 18%
Average home value: $420,000

New Hampshire: Derry

Cost-of-living index: 118.9
State cost-of-living index: 105.8
% higher than state average: 12%
Average home value: $415,500

New Jersey: Glen Rock

Cost-of-living index: 141.0
State cost-of-living index: 119.8
% higher than state average: 18%
Average home value: $774,700

New Mexico: Edgewood

Cost-of-living index: 112.0
State cost-of-living index: 88.4
% higher than state average: 27%
Average home value: $319,000

New York: New York

Cost-of-living index: 172.5
State cost-of-living index: 121.5
% higher than state average: 42%
Average home value: $677,200

North Carolina: Moyock

Cost-of-living index: 114.6
State cost-of-living index: 91
% higher than state average: 26%
Average home value: $428,500

North Dakota: Lincoln

Cost-of-living index: 95.2
State cost-of-living index: 88.6
% higher than state average: 7.4%
Average home value: $259,500

Today’s Top Offers

Ohio: Powell

Cost-of-living index: 111.9
State cost-of-living index: 82.7
% higher than state average: 35%
Average home value: $519,800

Oklahoma: Guthrie

Cost-of-living index: 93.2
State cost-of-living index: 82.2
% higher than state average: 13%
Average home value: $186,600

Oregon: Gladstone

Cost-of-living index: 133.7
State cost-of-living index: 114.3
% higher than state average: 17%
Average home value: $469,700

Pennsylvania: Levittown

Cost-of-living index: 119.7
State cost-of-living index: 94.6
% higher than state average: 27%
Average home value: $339,100

Rhode Island: Tiverton

Cost-of-living index: 130.3
State cost-of-living index: 112.5
% higher than state average: 16%
Average home value: $458,600

South Carolina: Isle of Palms

Cost-of-living index: 112.0
State cost-of-living index: 89.3
% higher than state average: 25%
Average home value: $1,428,000

South Dakota: Custer

Cost-of-living index: 99.8
State cost-of-living index: 89.3
% higher than state average: 12%
Average home value: $345,300

Tennessee: Spring Hill

Cost-of-living index: 139.4
State cost-of-living index: 89.9
% higher than state average: 55%
Average home value: $508,000

Texas: Hornsby Bend

Cost-of-living index: 129.1
State cost-of-living index: 94.2
% higher than state average: 37%
Average home value: $223,300

Utah: Coalville

Cost-of-living index: 169.0
State cost-of-living index: 114.2
% higher than state average: 48%
Average home value: $712,800

Vermont: Essex

Cost-of-living index: 112.4
State cost-of-living index: 100.8
% higher than state average: 12%
Average home value: $416,000

Virginia: Falls Church

Cost-of-living index: 177.0
State cost-of-living index: 104.2
% higher than state average: 70%
Average home value: $851,000

Washington: Union Hill-Novelty Hill

Cost-of-living index: 158.1
State cost-of-living index: 121.9
% higher than state average: 30%
Average home value: $1,013,600

West Virginia: Shannondale

Cost-of-living index: 111.2
State cost-of-living index: 79.4
% higher than state average: 40%
Average home value: $253,300

Today’s Top Offers

Wisconsin: Pewaukee

Cost-of-living index: 107.3
State cost-of-living index: 89.9
% higher than state average: 19%
Average home value: $405,500

Wyoming: Jackson

Cost-of-living index: 180.9
State cost-of-living index: 97.5
% higher than state average: 86%
Average home value: $1,470,800

Editor’s note: Photos are for representational purposes only and might not reflect the exact locations listed.

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed cities to find the most expensive city in every state. Using the U.S. Census American Community Survey, cities with populations over 10,000 were selected. Using Sperling’s BestPlaces, the cost-of-living indexes for overall, grocery, healthcare, housing, utilities, transportation and miscellaneous were found for each city. Only the cities with data and all cost-of-living indexes were considered for this study, resulting in over 13,000 cities analyzed. The most expensive city in each state was determined via cost of living. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Feb. 4, 2025.

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