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Widemind

U.S. COST OF LIVING

Same life.
Different price tag.

A dollar stretches further in some states. Explore the differences, then see what your budget could buy somewhere else.

Loading the latest saved BEA state price comparison…

Compare two states

FOLLOW YOUR DOLLARS

What if you moved?

Pick two states. Keep the same basket.
See how the price changes.

Your chosen spending, scaled by statewide price differences. This is an illustration, not a measured household budget.

Equivalent monthly spending

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Choose two states to compare.

Where does the difference come from?

Each category compares the price of the same basket in each state. U.S. average = 100. Categories are not your budget shares.

THE STATE OF YOUR WALLET

Explore every state.

What costs $100 nationally?
Find its price in each state.

State prices relative to the U.S. average.

VS. U.S.

    50 states + Washington, D.C. Select a state’s name to compare it above.

    TRY IT BEFORE YOU LOOK

    Which price tag is higher?

    Choose the state where the same basket costs more.

    Read the numbers with confidence.

    What do these numbers measure?

    BEA’s Regional Price Parities compare average prices across places in the same year. An all-items index of 110 means a broad basket costs about 10% more than the U.S. average. It does not mean prices rose 10% this year.

    Widemind divides each state’s category index by the national index for that category, then multiplies by 100. This makes the U.S. baseline 100 for every category.

    The paycheck tool divides your example hourly pay by the state’s overall price index, then multiplies by 100. The result compares purchasing power before taxes.

    Goods include many physical products, not just groceries. Housing services compare rent-based housing costs, not home purchase prices. Other services is a broad group of services excluding housing and utilities.

    What does the calculator leave out?

    It scales your example spending by the destination index divided by the starting index. It does not predict your rent or lifestyle. Earnings, income taxes, moving costs, household needs and city or neighborhood differences can change what you can afford. Lower prices alone do not mean a better place to live.

    These are annual price comparisons. We do not turn older annual data into a made-up current-year estimate or treat changes in the relative index as local inflation.

    Sources and update timing

    Sources are checked every morning at 7 a.m. Mountain local time, with additional checks during the day. BEA publishes these figures annually, so most daily checks leave the readings unchanged. If a source check fails, the most recent verified readings stay visible.

    BEA state price comparisons ↗ · Download the official data ↗ · BEA methodology ↗