The ten most expensive places in the US

By David Pilley on July 19, 2012

I recently visited my older brother in northern Virginia. I was able to get over the shock of a “Seven Corners” – yes, there is an intersection with seven points – and getting stuck underground in the Metro was an experience. (They’re doing construction.) But one sign really stuck out. Near my brother’s apartment was a sign advertising a deal for apartments “starting from the $500s.” I didn’t really think an apartment for $500 a month was much of a deal. I thought it seemed pretty average. After all, after graduating from college, I had lived in an apartment in Chapel Hill for $550 a month. This included internet, utilities, and access to a pool and gym.

Then I did some research. In one complex in Fairfax, a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom townhouse totaling 1523 square feet went between $2350 and $2700 a month. In another spot, a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment totaling 693 square feet costs between $1310 and $1585 per month. I could see what the deal was about an apartment in Fairfax, Virginia, costing only $500 per month. Not all places are made equally in the United States. Some are in a hot, arid climate, and others are in warm, moist areas. Some places are up in mountains 10,000 feet above sea level, and some places are on flat plains or beaches at or below sea level. In some places, your biggest hazards may be earthquakes and mudslides; in other places, you may be affected most by tornadoes or hurricanes. When it comes to living, some places cost much more than other places. This article will list the ten costliest places to live in the US, places you might not want to consider moving to if you have a tight budget.

The Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) sets its Cost of Living index by measuring prices in six different categories: housing, utilities, grocery, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services. More than 300 urban areas take part in the index each year, and the average Cost of Living index, just like IQ, is 100. C2ER revealed the top ten:


Juneau, Alaska:  140.5
Washington, DC:  144.6
Orange County, California:  144.7
Queens, NY:  145.9
Stamford, Connecticut:  147.4
San Jose, California:  154.3
Honolulu, Hawaii:  165.8
San Francisco, California:  166.5
Brooklyn, NY:  183.1
Manhattan, NY:  228.3


Three of New York City’s five boroughs make up the top ten, including the two most expensive places to live, and a Connecticut suburb is also up there. Three more are major cities in California, two cities are not part of the coterminous United States, and the final expensive place happens to be the nation’s capital. The standard of living in Manhattan is more than twice the national average! Compare this to the city I live – Raleigh, North Carolina – whose Cost of Living index is 93.3, and you’ll see why my estimation of $500 rent being “average” is a bit ill-informed. Compare it with Chapel Hill (115.1), and, well, maybe I should do some more research!

Luckily, research is what I like to do, and I found a great resource to measure your area’s cost of living. AreaVibes.com is a site that keeps track of the same metrics used in C2ER’s index. (Going to C2ER’s website to get the information would cost you money. You don’t need that.) There are various reasons some cities cost more than others, but the major reason is resources. The city of Fairfax, Virginia, has an overall index of 132.1. The counties around Washington, DC, are the wealthiest in the nation, as government jobs pay better than most other fields. (Not everyone in Washington works for the government, but most people who work for the government live in Washington.) Therefore, goods and services tend to cost a bit more here. Of the six categories to look at in the overall index, it is housing that most directly affects your cost of living. According to AreaVibe, the average apartment rent in Raleigh is $648, rating at a low 75. Average apartment rent in Fairfax, VA, is over $1611; metrically, Fairfax’s housing index is a whopping 190.9. Housing arrangements in northern Virginia cost about twice the national average, while housing in central North Carolina tends to cost a bit below the national average.

In all of the top ten costliest places, housing costs much more than the national average. (An apartment rental in New York City averages $4,000 a month!!) Some of the other categories may also play a role in maintaining a high cost of living. Juneau and Honolulu appear in the top ten simply because of their remote nature. Both cities are on islands, and both are thousands of miles from the lower 48 states. It simply costs more to transport grocery items to these places, ergo the higher than average prices for food and groceries in both Juneau and Honolulu.

I find it pretty fun to compare. It’s important to know what I have in comparison to what other people have. Knowing what I have can help me determine which place is best suited for me and which place may not be a good place to be. Northern Virginia, I have decided, is a nice place to visit. There are many notable landmarks, friendly people, and historic venues. However, unless I win the lottery or create a successful Ponzi scheme, I’m probably never going to have enough money to live there. That goes for the rest of the top ten. Before deciding to relocate, take the time to compare your current city to your prospective area! Some places require a fatter wallet than others, and knowing what the cost of living is in a specific area will make your life a little easier.