The Most Expensive States To Live
You won’t get more for your money in these 10 states.
With the launch of CNBC's sixth-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 10 most expensive states. In the CNBC study, states are ranked using a 50-point scale—the lower the score, the higher the cost of living, and vice versa.
Interestingly enough, some of the states with the highest cost of living also had some of the highest scores in the quality-of-life category, so maybe you do get what you pay for.
Nevertheless, only one of 10 states in the slides ahead managed to rank among the top 10 overall in this year’s Top States for Business. Cost of living may not be among the top criteria for a business, but it can be a big consideration for employees in the state.
To cover as much ground as possible, we included the average cost of one item related to housing, transportation, health, food and entertainment — single-family home, movie-theatre ticket, residential rent, doctor’s visit, gallon of gasoline and even a T-bone steak — in the most expensive metropolitan areas of each of the 10 states. Data are from the ACCRA Cost of Living Index,based on average prices from Q1 2011-Q1 2012.
So, which states have the highest cost of living? Click ahead to find out!
By Paul Toscano & Morgan Giordano
Posted 10 July 2012
Note: Though there is a high correlation with this basket of goods and the CNBC's cost-of-living rankings, the items and prices listed are not the same as those used in the ACCRA index.
10. Massachusetts
Most expensive area: Framingham-Natick
House: $534,420
Movie ticket: $10.77
Rent: $1,450
Doctor visit: $145.33
Gallon of gas: $3.503
T-bone steak: $9.61
Pictured: Natick, MA
9. Vermont
Most expensive area: Burlington-Chittenden
House: $394,512
Movie ticket: $9.19
Rent: $1,354
Doctor visit: $102.50
Gallon of gas: $3.494
T-bone steak: $8.75
Pictured: Burlington, VT
8. Maryland
Most expensive area: Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick
House: $534,832
Movie ticket: $10.86
Rent: $1,577
Doctor visit: $87.98
Gallon of gas: $3.625
T-bone steak: $10.28
Pictured: Downtown Bethesda
7. Rhode Island
Most expensive area: Providence
House: $359,282
Movie ticket: $10.85
Rent: $1,375
Doctor visit: $149.00
Gallon of gas: $3.606
T-bone steak: $10.51
Pictured: Downtown Providence
6. New Jersey
Most expensive area: Bergen-Passaic
House: $497,759
Movie ticket: $10.86
Rent: $1,631
Doctor visit: $83.24
Gallon of gas: $3.449
T-bone steak: $9.91
Pictured: Bergen County Court House
5. California
Most expensive area: San Francisco
House: $799,988
Movie ticket: $10.81
Rent: $2,524
Doctor visit: $121.27
Gallon of gas: $3.741
T-bone steak: $10.25
Pictured: The Golden Gate Bridge
4. New York
Most expensive area: New York (Manhattan)
House: $1,215,129
Movie ticket: $13.06
Rent: $3,378
Doctor visit: $140.40
Gallon of gas: $3.884
T-bone steak: $14.25
Pictured: Times Square
3. Connecticut
Most expensive area: Stamford
House: $568,945
Movie ticket: $10.38
Rent: $1,993
Doctor visit: $116.74
Gallon of gas: $3.845
T-bone steak: $10.82
Pictured: Stamford Metro North Train Station
2. Alaska
Most expensive area: Juneau
House: $493,167
Movie ticket: $10.50
Rent: $1,437
Doctor visit: $156.42
Gallon of gas: $3.941
T-bone steak: $10.64
Pictured: Downtown Juneau
1. Hawaii
Most expensive: Honolulu
House: $659,530
Movie ticket: $10.31
Rent: $2,658
Doctor visit: $129.13
Gallon of gas: $3.987
T-bone steak: $7.80
Pictured: Downtown Honolulu