Most Expensive States To Live
You won’t get more for your money in these 10 states.
With the launch of CNBC's fourth annual edition of "America's Top States For Business," we decided to take a look at the cost of a variety of items in the nation's ten most expensive states. In the CNBC study, states are ranked using a 25-point scale—the lower the score, the higher the cost of living, and vice versa.
Interestingly enough, some of these states also had some of the highest scores in the quality-of-life category, so maybe you do get what you pay for. That said, only one of the ten states in the slides ahead managed to rank among the top 10 overall in the CNBC study. Cost of living may not be among the top criteria for a business, but it can be a big consideration for workers.
To cover as much ground as possible, we included one item each related to housing, transportation, health, food and entertainment. Here's the average cost of a single-family home, the best-selling cholesterol drug Lipitor, a movie theatre-ticket, a dozen eggs and a gallon of gasoline in the largest metropolitan areas of each of the ten states using data from the ACCRA Cost of Living Index. (Though there is a high correlation with this basket of goods and the study's cost-of-living rankings, the items and prices listed are not the same as those used in the index.)
Take a look and see which states have the highest cost of living.
Source: ACCRA Cost of Living Index/Bankrate.com
Published July 13, 2010
9. Rhode Island (Tied)
Score: 5/25
Providence-New Bedford-Fall River
House: $349,000
Lipitor: $141.72
Movie Ticket: $10.60
Dozen Eggs: $1.93
Gallon of Gasoline: $2.75
9. Massachusetts (Tied)
Score: 5/25
Boston-Quincy
House: $420,600
Lipitor: $141.63
Movie Ticket: $10.70
Dozen Eggs: $1.95
Gallon of Gasoline: $2.72
7. New York (Tie)
Score: 4/25
New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.J.
House: $1,130,511
Lipitor: $160.24
Movie Ticket: $12.30
Dozen Eggs: $2.49
Gallon of Gasoline: $2.94
7. Vermont (Tie)
Score: 4/25
Burlington-South Burlington
House: $415,548
Lipitor: $140.02
Movie Ticket: $8.69
Dozen Eggs: $2.37
Gallon of Gasoline: $2.76
5. Connecticut (Tie)
Score: 3/25
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford
House: $407,353
Lipitor: $152.81
Movie Ticket: $10.25
Dozen Eggs: $2.04
Gallon of Gasoline: $2.92
5. Maryland (Tie)
Score: 3/25
Baltimore-Towson
House: $452,800
Lipitor: $151.59
Movie Ticket: $10.00
Dozen Eggs: $2.01
Gallon of Gasoline: $2.73
3. Alaska (Tie)
Score: 2/25
Anchorage
House: $442,050
Lipitor: $142.44
Movie Ticket: $10.00
Dozen Eggs: $2.81
Gallon of Gasoline: $3.26
3. New Jersey
Score: 2/25
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NJ (Bergen-Passaic Counties N.J.)
House: $506,076
Lipitor: $153.06
Movie Ticket: $10.70
Dozen Eggs: $2.17
Gallon of Gasoline: $2.67
1. California (Tie)
Score: 1/25
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale
House: $596,130
Lipitor: $154.09
Movie Ticket: $12.35
Dozen Eggs: $1.93
Gallon of Gasoline: $3.10
1. Hawaii (Tie)
Score: 1/25
Honolulu
House: $681,704
Lipitor: $149.25
Movie Ticket: $9.85
Dozen Eggs: $2.79
Gallon of Gasoline: $3.29