10 States Where Cost of Living Has Improved Most During Biden’s Presidency

The cost of living in the U.S. has become a growing concern for many Americans in recent years. Despite inflation spikes, some states have seen notable improvements in their cost of living since the start of Joe Biden’s presidency. Looking at factors such as house prices, groceries, utility expenses and overall consumer price indices can help identify states where financial constraints have eased on daily expenditure in various areas.

Income levels determine the cost of living for individuals and families, but location can also impact this as the standard of living varies even within the same state. Some factors that improve cost of living include market trends, economic initiatives and government policies.

In light of the recent cost of living improvements, GOBankingRates has highlighted the top 10 states where residents have experienced the most significant positive changes in affordability during Biden’s presidency. This data covers several factors, including the cost of living index change and the change in the average monthly cost of expenditures for single people, retirees and married couples with kids for each highlighted state. Take a closer look at the changes in cost of living in these states.

• Cost of Living Index Change: -8.7
• All Residents Change: $141
• Retired Residents Change: $135
• Married Couples With Kids Change: $194
• Single Residents Change: $116
• Residents Born in 1981-97 Change: $133

• Cost of Living Index Change: -5.0
• All Residents Change: $136
• Retired Residents Change: $124
• Married Couples With Kids Change: $187
• Single Residents Change: $119
• Residents Born 1981-97 Change: $129

• Cost of Living Index Change: -1.4
• All Residents Change: $94
• Retired Residents Change: $57
• Married Couples With Kids Change: $151
• Single Residents Change: $73
• Residents Born 1981-97 Change: $115

• Cost of Living Index Change: -6.8
• All Residents Change: $93
• Retired Residents Change: $83
• Married Couples With Kids Change: $128
• Single Residents Change: $94
• Residents Born 1981-97 Change: $90

• Cost of Living Index Change: -1.6
• All Residents Change: $76
• Retired Residents Change: $29
• Married Couples With Kids Change: $117
• Single Residents Change: $105
• Residents Born 1981-97 Change: $97

• Cost of Living Index Change: 0.1
• All Residents Change: $71
• Retired Residents Change: $69
• Married Couples With Kids Change: $98
• Single Residents Change: $67
• Residents Born 1981-97 Change: $65

• Cost of Living Index Change: -4.4
• All Residents Change: $71
• Retired Residents Change: $67
• Married Couples With Kids Change: $104
• Single Residents Change: $77
• Residents Born 1981-97 Change: $85

• Cost of Living Index Change: -17.5
• All Residents Change: $58
• Retired Residents Change: $53
• Married Couples With Kids Change: $76
• Single Residents Change: $55
• Residents Born 1981-97 Change: $54

• Cost of Living Index Change: 0.5
• All Residents Change: $56
• Retired Residents Change: $44
• Married Couples With Kids Change: $77
• Single Residents Change: $67
• Residents Born 1981-97 Change: $56

• Cost of Living Index Change: -21.9
• All Residents Change: $54
• Retired Residents Change: $39
• Married Couples With Kids Change: $81
• Single Residents Change: $41
• Residents Born 1981-97 Change: $61

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed each state’s cost of living indexes as sourced from the Missouri Economic and Research Information Center for each quarter from Q1 2021 to Q1 2024. Using the cost of living indexes the average expenditure monthly cost can be calculated by using the national average expenditure costs for different groups of people including; all residents, retired residents, married couple with kids, single residents, and residents born between 1981-1997, as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. The difference in average costs and overall indexes were recorded and sorted to find the cost of living in every state since Biden took over. All data was collected on and is up to date as of July 19, 2024.