The 4 Most Expensive Places To Live in the United States

 

How much do you bet that’s a single $100 bill on top of a stock of ones?

Income is just one half of the personal finance puzzle. The magic metric that determines how much money you can put into savings, stash in the vacation fund, or invest in your hobby, is whatever is left over after the myriad costs of living are deducted from your paycheck.
On the income side of the equation, the post-crisis period has not looked very attractive for most Americans. Personal income and disposable personal income, both tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, has barely moved upward over the past two years and, in fact, lost some ground over the first quarter. Income for the average worker hasn’t kept up with gains in other parts of the economy, such as the stock or housing market.

On the expenditures side of the equation, inflationary pressure has also remained weak, particularly over the past year, which is a mixed blessing for consumers. However, research from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that it’s not necessarily national-level price increases that consumers should be worried about, but regional price parities.
Research by the government group shows that a fixed basket of goods and services, including rent, costs as much as 20 percent more in some metropolitan areas than the national average. Using the BEA price parity metric, let’s take a look at the five most-expensive metropolitan areas in the U.S.:

4) San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
According to the BEA, the average price level of goods, services, and rent in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, metropolitan area is 18.2 percent higher than the national average. As with most other highly expensive places to live, the relative cost of rent in this metropolitan area is high, while the relative cost of goods is slightly reduced.
Over the past 12 months, the region’s consumer-price index has climbed 2.4 percent, compared to 1.1 percent nationwide. Its headline unemployment rate is 6.6 percent, below the national average of 7.6 percent.



3) New York, Northern New Jersey, Long Island, NY-NJ-PA
The average price level of goods, services, and rent in the New York, Northern New Jersey, Long Island metropolitan area is 20.5 percent higher than the national average. Over the past 12 months, the region’s consumer price index has increased 1.4 percent, compared to 1.1 percent nationwide. Its headline unemployment rate is 7.5 percent, just below the national average of 7.6 percent.



2) Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY
The average price level of goods, services, and rent in the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, New York, metropolitan area is 20.6 percent higher than the national average. Over the past 12 months, the region’s consumer price index has increased 1.4 percent, compared to 1.1 percent nationwide. Its headline unemployment rate is 7.0 percent, compared to the national average of 7.6 percent.



1) Honolulu, HI
The average price level of goods, services, and rent in the Honolulu, Hawaii, metropolitan area is 21.0 percent higher than the national average. Over the past 12 months, the region’s consumer price index has increased 2.4 percent, compared to 1.1 percent nationwide. Its headline unemployment rate is just 3.9 percent, compared to the national average of 7.6 percent.