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COST OF LIVING INDEX QUARTERLY UPDATE

Feb. 3, 2023

Among the 265 urban areas that participated in the second quarter 2021 Cost of Living Index the after-tax cost for a professional/managerial standard of living ranged from more than twice the national average in New York (Manhattan) NY to more than 20 percent below the national average in Harlingen, TX.   The Cost of Living Index is published quarterly by C2ER – The Council for Community and Economic Research

Dalton’s Cost of Living Index (COLI)

Year-End Review of Three Quarters in 2022

National Average for 265 Urban Areas = 100

 

Composite Index

Grocery Items

Housing

Utilities

Transportation

Health Care

Misc. Goods & Services

Dalton, GA

88.0

91.4

74.2

96.9

80.6

87.4

97.5

 

The Ten Most and Least Expensive Urban Areas

in the Cost of Living Index (COLI)

Year-End Review of Three Quarters in 2022

National Average for 265 Urban Areas = 100

Most Expensive

 

Least Expensive

 
   

COL

   

   COL

Ranking

Urban Areas

Index

Ranking

Urban Areas

Index

1

New York (Manhattan) NY

227.7

1

Harlingen TX

77.1

2

Honolulu HI

184.0

2

Kalamazoo MI

77.5

3

San Francisco CA

178.6

3

Muskogee OK

78.3

4

New York (Brooklyn) NY

168.6

4

McAllen TX

79.4

5

Washington DC

152.2

5

Decatur IL

80.1

6

Orange County CA

151.2

6

Tupelo MS

81.4

7

Los Angeles-Long Beach CA

150.6

7

Joplin MO

82.0

8

Seattle WA

149.9

8

Topeka KS

82.5

9

Boston MA

149.7

9

Salina KS

82.7

10

Oackland CA

145.9

10

Richmond IN

82.9

               

The Cost of Living Index measures regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures, for professional and managerial households in the top income quintile. It is based on more than 90,000 prices covering 60 different items for which prices are collected quarterly by chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, and university applied economic centers in each participating urban area. Small differences should not be interpreted as showing a measurable difference.

The composite index is based on six component categories – housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services.


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