The cost of living by state is lowest in Arkansas, Mississippi, Iowa, Oklahoma and Louisiana, and highest in California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York and Washington, based on the federal government's latest price data. The table below ranks all 50 states and DC from cheapest to most expensive, with rents shown separately because housing drives most of the gap.
The numbers come from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), which measured prices in every state for 2024. If you're retired or getting close, a lower price level means your Social Security and savings cover more. But taxes and health care change the picture too, so each gets its own section below.
Which page do you need? This one ranks all 50 states and DC on the federal government's price data. For a retiree shortlist that weighs taxes too, see the cheapest states to retire. For low-cost towns and small cities, see the cheapest places to retire in the US. The state lists differ a little because they use different price measures: Arkansas comes out cheapest here, Oklahoma on the state index.
What the numbers mean: regional price parities
BEA's measure is called regional price parities (RPPs). It sets the national price level at 100. A state at 90 has prices about 10 percent below the US average, and a state at 110 is about 10 percent above. BEA's technical notes give the same reading: an RPP of 120 means prices are 20 percent above the US average.
The index is built from price quotes collected for the Consumer Price Index (apparel, food, medical care, transportation and more), with rents taken from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. It compares price levels across places in a single year. It does not tell you how fast prices are rising in any state.
Housing is handled separately. BEA's rents figure covers the rent paid by tenants, plus an imputed rental value for owner-occupied homes, which is the rent an owner could have collected. It is not a home price, so use it as a guide to housing costs rather than a price tag.
One caution: the figures describe a typical basket in the state as a whole. Your own costs depend on your town, your housing and what you buy. Our guide to comparing cost of living for retirement shows how to price your own list.
Cost of living by state: the full list, cheapest to most expensive
Rank 1 is the lowest all-items price level. Both columns use 2024 data, rounded to one decimal, and rank order is based on the unrounded numbers. The District of Columbia is not a state, but BEA publishes it alongside them, so it is ranked here too.
| Rank (1 = cheapest) | State | All items (US = 100) | Rents (US = 100.6) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arkansas | 86.9 | 58.2 |
| 2 | Mississippi | 87.0 | 56.5 |
| 3 | Iowa | 87.8 | 65.3 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 87.8 | 62.8 |
| 5 | Louisiana | 88.2 | 63.1 |
| 6 | South Dakota | 88.6 | 67.6 |
| 7 | Alabama | 88.8 | 61.8 |
| 8 | North Dakota | 89.0 | 71.4 |
| 9 | West Virginia | 89.5 | 54.2 |
| 10 | Kansas | 90.1 | 71.2 |
| 11 | Nebraska | 90.1 | 75.2 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 90.2 | 64.3 |
| 13 | Missouri | 90.8 | 69.9 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 91.9 | 79.1 |
| 15 | New Mexico | 92.2 | 73.6 |
| 16 | Wyoming | 92.7 | 71.1 |
| 17 | Ohio | 92.8 | 73.0 |
| 18 | Indiana | 93.3 | 73.9 |
| 19 | South Carolina | 93.7 | 80.5 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 94.1 | 79.3 |
| 21 | North Carolina | 94.3 | 81.4 |
| 22 | Montana | 94.6 | 84.6 |
| 23 | Idaho | 95.5 | 90.0 |
| 24 | Michigan | 96.2 | 82.3 |
| 25 | Georgia | 96.3 | 88.7 |
| 26 | Maine | 97.0 | 78.9 |
| 27 | Texas | 97.1 | 96.5 |
| 28 | Pennsylvania | 97.6 | 85.1 |
| 29 | Vermont | 98.0 | 86.5 |
| 30 | Minnesota | 98.6 | 91.3 |
| 31 | Utah | 98.9 | 107.8 |
| 32 | Delaware | 99.8 | 102.0 |
| 33 | Illinois | 100.0 | 93.9 |
| 34 | Nevada | 100.0 | 114.1 |
| 35 | Arizona | 100.7 | 106.8 |
| 36 | Virginia | 101.1 | 106.8 |
| 37 | Rhode Island | 102.3 | 105.6 |
| 38 | Alaska | 102.4 | 93.8 |
| 39 | Colorado | 103.1 | 127.4 |
| 40 | Oregon | 103.4 | 108.6 |
| 41 | Florida | 103.4 | 122.1 |
| 42 | Connecticut | 103.6 | 117.0 |
| 43 | New Hampshire | 104.2 | 114.9 |
| 44 | Maryland | 105.0 | 121.1 |
| 45 | Massachusetts | 105.8 | 128.1 |
| 46 | Washington | 107.0 | 126.0 |
| 47 | New York | 107.9 | 122.2 |
| 48 | New Jersey | 108.8 | 134.3 |
| 49 | District of Columbia | 109.9 | 155.0 |
| 50 | Hawaii | 110.0 | 125.3 |
| 51 | California | 110.7 | 154.3 |
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by State, table SARPP, 2024 (released February 19, 2026). The US rents figure in BEA's file is 100.6; the all-items benchmark is 100.
The 10 cheapest states to live in
These are the least expensive states and the lowest cost of living states in the federal data, with their rents alongside.
| Rank | State | All items | Rents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arkansas | 86.9 | 58.2 |
| 2 | Mississippi | 87.0 | 56.5 |
| 3 | Iowa | 87.8 | 65.3 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 87.8 | 62.8 |
| 5 | Louisiana | 88.2 | 63.1 |
| 6 | South Dakota | 88.6 | 67.6 |
| 7 | Alabama | 88.8 | 61.8 |
| 8 | North Dakota | 89.0 | 71.4 |
| 9 | West Virginia | 89.5 | 54.2 |
| 10 | Kansas | 90.1 | 71.2 |
Most of these states are in the South and the Plains, and all ten have a rent index below 72. West Virginia has the lowest in the country at 54.2, about half the US level, followed by Mississippi at 56.5 and Arkansas at 58.2.
Another thing worth noticing is utilities, which BEA reports separately. West Virginia is cheap on rent but its utilities price level is 92.2. Louisiana (71.5) and Oklahoma (73.9) are far lower. Low rent alone does not guarantee a low monthly budget.
The 10 most expensive states to live in
These are the ten most expensive states to live in, from the top down. The District of Columbia (109.9, rents 155.0) would rank third among them, but it is left out of the table because it is not a state.
| Rank (1 = cheapest) | State | All items | Rents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | California | 110.7 | 154.3 |
| 50 | Hawaii | 110.0 | 125.3 |
| 48 | New Jersey | 108.8 | 134.3 |
| 47 | New York | 107.9 | 122.2 |
| 46 | Washington | 107.0 | 126.0 |
| 45 | Massachusetts | 105.8 | 128.1 |
| 44 | Maryland | 105.0 | 121.1 |
| 43 | New Hampshire | 104.2 | 114.9 |
| 42 | Connecticut | 103.6 | 117.0 |
| 41 | Florida | 103.4 | 122.1 |
California is the most expensive state to live in, followed closely by Hawaii. California's all-items score is less than one point above Hawaii's, and its rents are far higher than most of the country: 154.3, against 100.6 for the nation. New Jersey, Massachusetts and Colorado also have rent indexes above 127. Florida makes the list at 103.4, pushed up by a rent index of 122.1, even though it is a favorite retirement state. Its all-items level is only about three points above average.
The gap between the two ends is large. Prices in California run about 27 percent higher than in Arkansas for a similar basket. A retiree who moves from a high-cost state to a low-cost one can see housing costs drop sharply, though whether that nets out depends on taxes, health care and the home you sell or buy.
What matters extra if you are retired
The price index is a starting point for retirees, not the last word. Three things can change the answer.
Taxes on retirement income
BEA's numbers cover prices and leave taxes out. For retirees, taxes can matter as much as rent. According to AARP's list, updated April 29, 2026, only eight states still tax some Social Security benefits: Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah and Vermont. The other 42 states do not. Pensions, IRA withdrawals and property taxes are a separate matter. Our guides to states that don't tax Social Security and tax-friendly states for retirees cover them state by state.
Housing: renting versus owning
The rents measure above is the best single number in the table for a renter. If you own a paid-off home, your housing cost is mostly property tax, insurance and upkeep, and what you can get for selling your current home matters more than the local rent index. Many states and counties offer property tax relief for older homeowners; see property tax breaks for seniors by state.
Health care access
A low price level does not mean easy access to care. Rural states can mean long drives to specialists. Medicare Advantage and drug plans are sold by private companies, and the choices you see depend on where you live, so compare the plans offered for your ZIP code on Medicare.gov before you decide. This is general information, not medical or financial advice.
How this page differs from our retiree ranking
This page ranks every state on one federal measure of prices for all households. It does not look at taxes, home values or what a retiree should pick. Our cheapest states to retire guide uses a different cost index plus home values, property and sales taxes and Social Security rules to rank the lowest-cost states for retirement. Because the two guides use different surveys, the orders do not match exactly. The core group, Arkansas, Mississippi, Iowa, Oklahoma and West Virginia, shows up near the bottom on both, which is a good sign that those places really are cheap.
If a whole state is too broad, our guide to the cheapest places to retire in the US compares towns and small cities instead.
How to use the ranking
- Start with rents (renters) or home prices (buyers). That is where states differ most.
- Add the taxes you would pay on your actual income sources: Social Security, pension, IRA withdrawals, property and sales.
- Look at health care in the specific county, not the state.
- Compare towns, not states. A big metro area in a cheap state can cost far more than a small town in the same state.
- Rent for a month before you buy. Talk to a fee-only planner or tax professional before selling a home or retirement assets to move.
If even the cheapest US state is still too expensive, our Live Better Abroad hub looks at countries where the same income goes further. More state and city guides are on the Thrive in USA hub.
Figures as of November 2026. Sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by State, table SARPP, 2024 data, released February 19, 2026 (bea.gov); BEA technical notes on regional price parities (bea.gov); AARP, updated April 29, 2026 (aarp.org). Not tax, legal or financial advice.