8 Highest Cost Of Living U.S. States

When it comes to settling on where to live, there are many things to consider. For those in the U.S., this naturally extends to which state to live in. People often believe they’ll always live in the state they grew up in. Others might want to live somewhere that fits their chosen profession. However, some states cost quite the pretty penny, having a high cost of living.

Certain Factors Can Make Certain States More Expensive Than Others

Stacker used information from the Council for Community & Economic Research to give each state a score. This compared things like health care, insurance, transportation, and rent, among other factors, in each state.

Generally, states with scores over 100 were seen as expensive to live in. In addition, there are other factors to consider. Other sources, for example, preferred a monetary cost of living.

While sources often differed on which states were more expensive than others, there is a general idea of which states have the highest costs of living. Some of these states include:

• Hawaii: This state earned a score of 188.4 and had an annual cost of living of $55.5K.
• California: This state earned a score of 143 and had an annual cost of living of $53.2K.
• Massachusetts: This state earned a score of 139.9 and had an annual cost of living of $53.9K.
• New York: This state earned a score of 123.5 and had an annual cost of living of $49.6K.
• Alaska: This state earned a score of 123 and had an annual cost of living of $48.7K.
• Washington: This state earned a score of 115.8 and had an annual cost of living of $47.2K.
• New Jersey: This state earned a score of 115 and had an annual cost of living of $49.5K.

Various issues can cause a state to be more expensive than others. Hannah Jones of Realtor.com shared that, Hawaii and Alaska “both face high costs of living in part due to the cost of transporting goods to their relatively remote locations. Both states are not able to produce all the goods they need, which means residents face high prices once transportation is factored in.”

 

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Did some of these states surprise you? What state would you like to live in if given the chance?