State Living Costs: Why the Housing Index Changes the Picture
Compare 2024 all-items and housing price parities in six states, with matched-year income and a careful explanation of what the indexes measure.
Editorial date: · Data reviewed September 30, 2026 · US Economic Data
The same national benchmark, two different baskets
Regional price parities compare average consumer price levels across places in the same year. The national benchmark is 100. The table separates the all-items measure from the housing-services component for six illustrative states, then adds personal income from the matching 2024 year.
A high housing-services parity can differ substantially from a state’s overall price parity. The all-items measure includes other consumer goods and services, so one component does not automatically determine the whole index. The two columns should not be averaged or summed to manufacture a combined cost score.
Original data comparison
This article retains its original acquired data vintage. Current indicator and state pages use the reviewed update. Inspect revisions and corrections.
BEA SARPP lines 1 and 3, 2024; U.S. = 100. SAINC1 line 3, same-year personal income per resident. Source price file published Feb 19, 2026.
| State | All-items price parity | Housing-services parity | 2024 income per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 110.720 | 154.346 | $86,378 |
| Texas | 97.057 | 96.503 | $69,762 |
| Florida | 103.414 | 122.107 | $73,340 |
| New York | 107.921 | 122.168 | $84,978 |
| West Virginia | 89.497 | 54.241 | $55,432 |
| Arkansas | 86.937 | 58.203 | $59,172 |
A same-year California–Texas example
For the all-items basket, California’s 2024 parity is 110.720 and Texas’s is 97.057. Their ratio is 1.1408. An illustrative $50,000 amount at the Texas index corresponds to $57,038.65 at the California index, or 14.08% more for the measured basket. This calculation uses the ratio rather than subtracting index points.
The result does not mean every purchase in California costs that percentage more, nor that every household needs that exact salary difference. The housing column describes a different component, and taxes or a household’s ownership situation are not explicitly modeled. The geographic calculator lets the reader inspect the same operation for other places and years without hiding the source indexes.
A housing parity is not an asking rent
Housing-service prices are a component of the regional price measurement. The index does not tell a prospective renter the asking rent for a particular apartment, or a buyer the median price of homes sold. A state average also conceals variation across local markets.
The illustrative skyline photo is not evidence about prices in a particular neighborhood. Use the source geography and reference year for the economic comparison, and obtain a separate locally appropriate housing dataset for a specific housing-market question.
A relative index is not annual inflation
An all-items parity of 110 indicates prices above the national benchmark for that year. If the parity falls in a subsequent year, local prices need not have fallen: national prices may simply have risen faster. Changes in a relative spatial index cannot be read as a CPI inflation rate.
Comparing two locations also requires a ratio. Moving from a parity of 90 to 110 corresponds to about 22.2% higher measured prices. The difference of 20 index points is a gap in the benchmark scale, not the percentage change relative to the lower-cost location.
Keep income and prices in the same year
The income column uses 2024, because that is the latest price-parity year in this acquisition. Substituting 2025 income would mix the numerator and adjustment periods. Per-capita personal income is an aggregate average, not the median household’s pay.
The state purchasing-power calculator lets readers choose an amount and two places using the same annual all-items measure. Its result is a broad basket illustration, not a household budget or a promise about a relocation. The full ranking supplies all 50 states instead of just the examples here.
Sources and calculation method
BEA SARPP lines 1 and 3, 2024; U.S. = 100. SAINC1 line 3, same-year personal income per resident. Source price file published Feb 19, 2026. These are observations in acquired September 30 snapshots. Source publication dates and reference periods differ; the article’s editorial date is separate from this final data-review date. The tables do not establish which revisions were known before acquisition.
Retain the table download and file checksum alongside the method when citing this comparison. For source or calculation questions, use the corrections contact.
