Cost of Living: Top 20 US Cities Compared (2026)

A $100,000 salary in San Francisco has the purchasing power of approximately $48,000 in the average US city. The same salary in Houston buys the equivalent of $112,000 in goods and services. Cost of living differences between American cities are so extreme that a $30,000 raise for a job relocation can actually reduce your standard of living — or a lateral move to a cheaper city can feel like a massive promotion. This analysis compares the 20 largest US metro areas across housing, groceries, transportation, healthcare, and taxes using 2026 data.

The Top 20 US Cities Ranked by Cost of Living Index

The cost of living index uses the national average as 100. A score of 130 means costs are 30% above average; 85 means 15% below average. Housing is weighted most heavily because it represents the largest share of household spending.

Rank	City	Overall Index	Housing	Groceries	Transport	Healthcare	Utilities
1	San Francisco, CA	179.5	296.3	118.5	131.5	118.2	112.0
2	New York City, NY	177.2	283.7	116.3	144.0	110.8	125.6
3	Honolulu, HI	168.4	261.0	148.7	128.4	107.5	169.3
4	Los Angeles, CA	160.8	257.6	110.4	126.3	108.7	106.2
5	Seattle, WA	152.4	228.0	112.8	121.7	112.4	96.3
6	Boston, MA	150.3	227.5	109.2	118.6	122.8	118.9
7	Washington, DC	148.7	222.4	106.3	112.0	105.6	109.5
8	San Diego, CA	146.2	230.8	108.0	118.9	107.3	103.4
9	Denver, CO	128.3	165.0	104.2	106.8	112.0	93.5
10	Portland, OR	125.5	159.4	105.6	115.7	108.0	89.2
11	Miami, FL	123.8	162.5	106.8	108.3	105.4	97.6
12	Minneapolis, MN	109.2	118.7	103.0	105.4	107.8	98.6
13	Chicago, IL	107.4	115.2	103.5	111.8	102.6	96.8
14	Philadelphia, PA	106.8	112.0	105.4	108.6	101.2	110.4
15	Atlanta, GA	102.3	104.5	99.8	105.2	103.7	96.0
16	Phoenix, AZ	101.8	108.4	100.5	100.8	100.6	103.8
17	Dallas, TX	97.5	92.4	96.8	101.4	103.2	106.4
18	Houston, TX	89.2	77.6	94.5	98.8	102.4	103.0
19	San Antonio, TX	87.4	73.6	93.2	97.5	98.8	101.4
20	Memphis, TN	82.8	62.5	94.0	95.6	96.2	89.8

What $100,000 Buys in Each City

The same $100,000 gross salary produces dramatically different lifestyles depending on location. After accounting for cost of living differences (and state/local income taxes where applicable), here is the purchasing power equivalent in each city:

San Francisco: $55,700. After California state tax (~$5,800 effective on $100K) and a cost-of-living 79.5% above average, your $100K stretches to what $55,700 buys nationally. New York City: $56,400. New York state and city taxes eat roughly $8,200, and costs are 77.2% above average. Los Angeles: $62,200. Seattle: $65,600 (no state income tax, but high cost of living). Houston: $112,100 (no state income tax, costs 10.8% below average). Memphis: $120,800 (low Tennessee state tax on investment income only, costs 17.2% below average).

The spread between the highest and lowest is startling. A software engineer earning $100,000 in Memphis has roughly 2.2 times the purchasing power of the same engineer earning $100,000 in San Francisco. Even accounting for the fact that San Francisco salaries for the same role might be $150,000, the purchasing power gap remains significant: $83,500 in SF versus $120,800 in Memphis.

Housing: The Dominant Factor

Housing alone accounts for 60 to 70% of cost-of-living variation between cities. The median home price in San Francisco is approximately $1,180,000. In Memphis, it is $198,000. That is a 6x difference, and it flows through to mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance.

Monthly housing costs (mortgage P&I at 6.5%, 10% down, plus estimated property tax and insurance) for the median home in each city:

San Francisco: $7,770/month. New York (Manhattan): $7,200/month. Honolulu: $5,150/month. Los Angeles: $5,050/month. Seattle: $4,440/month. Boston: $4,280/month. Washington DC: $4,150/month. Denver: $3,380/month. Portland: $3,290/month. Miami: $3,160/month. Chicago: $2,200/month. Dallas: $2,180/month. Atlanta: $2,190/month. Houston: $1,870/month. Memphis: $1,380/month.

A household spending 28% of gross income on housing needs to earn $333,000 annually to buy the median San Francisco home. The same calculation for Memphis requires $59,000. Use our Mortgage Calculator to see exact payments for any home price.

Groceries and Everyday Spending

Grocery costs vary less than housing but still impact budgets meaningfully. Honolulu is the clear outlier at 48.7% above the national average — nearly everything is shipped in. A gallon of milk that costs $3.89 nationally costs about $5.78 in Honolulu. A dozen eggs averaging $4.50 nationally runs $6.30 in Hawaii.

California cities run 10 to 18% above average for groceries. The New York metro area is about 16% above average. Texas and Southeast cities generally sit 3 to 7% below average. For a family of four spending $1,000 per month on groceries nationally, the range extends from $930 in Memphis to $1,487 in Honolulu — a $557 monthly difference, or $6,684 per year.

Restaurant meals follow a similar but more extreme pattern. A casual dining meal for two averages $45 nationally, $68 in San Francisco, $72 in New York, and $38 in Memphis. Dining out twice a week, the annual difference between New York and Memphis exceeds $3,500.

Transportation Costs

Transportation costs include gas prices, car insurance, public transit, parking, and commute-related expenses. New York City is the most expensive for transportation (44% above average) due to subway fares, taxi costs, and exorbitant parking — despite many residents not owning cars. San Francisco (31.5% above) and Los Angeles (26.3% above) follow.

Car insurance rates vary dramatically by city. The average annual premium in Detroit is approximately $5,400 — the highest in the nation. New York City averages $4,200. Houston averages $2,800. Phoenix averages $1,900. These differences reflect accident rates, theft rates, litigation costs, and state insurance regulations.

Gas prices in early 2026 average $3.10 per gallon nationally but range from $2.60 in Texas and the Southeast to $4.50 in California. A 15,000-mile-per-year driver at 25 MPG spends $1,860 per year on gas nationally, $1,560 in Texas, and $2,700 in California — a $1,140 annual difference on fuel alone.

Healthcare Costs

Healthcare costs vary by roughly 25% across major metro areas, driven primarily by hospital pricing power, physician density, and state insurance regulations. Boston, the nation's healthcare hub, is paradoxically among the most expensive for healthcare services — 22.8% above average. A routine doctor visit costs $250 to $350 in Boston versus $150 to $225 in Phoenix.

Health insurance premiums on the ACA marketplace for a 40-year-old nonsmoker buying a Silver plan range from approximately $350 per month in Minneapolis to $650 per month in Honolulu. Employer-sponsored plans partially mask these differences since large companies negotiate national rates, but individual market buyers feel the full impact.

Out-of-pocket dental, vision, and prescription costs also vary. A routine dental cleaning ranges from $75 in Houston to $180 in San Francisco. An eye exam runs $95 to $180 depending on the city. These differences are modest individually but add up across a family over a year.

The Real Decision: Salary vs. Cost of Living

The financially optimal strategy is to earn a high-cost-city salary while spending at low-cost-city prices — which remote work has made possible for millions of workers. A software developer earning a San Francisco-caliber $165,000 while living in Austin, Texas has the purchasing power equivalent of roughly $275,000 in San Francisco. No promotion, no raise, no negotiation — just a relocation.

However, many employers have implemented location-based pay adjustments. A company paying $165,000 in San Francisco might offer $130,000 for the same role in Austin. Even with the adjustment, the Austin employee typically comes out ahead: $130,000 at Austin's 98 cost-of-living index has the purchasing power of $132,600 nationally, versus $165,000 in San Francisco purchasing power of $91,900. The Austin employee has 44% more purchasing power despite earning $35,000 less.

Use our Salary Calculator to compare take-home pay across states, and the Hourly to Salary Calculator to convert between pay periods when evaluating offers in different cities. The cost-of-living difference between cities is often worth more than a five-figure raise.