About CostToLive

Free, comprehensive cost of living data for every US city.

What Is CostToLive?

CostToLive.com is a free tool that helps you understand and compare the cost of living across 4,000+ US cities. Whether you're considering a move, negotiating a salary, or just curious how your city stacks up, we provide clear, data-driven answers.

Every city profile includes median rent, household income, home values, tax rates, affordability ratios, and a composite cost index. Our 44,000+ comparison pages let you put any two major cities side by side with detailed breakdowns and analysis.

Who Is This For?

Job Seekers
Evaluating offers in different cities? See if a higher salary actually means more money in your pocket.
Remote Workers
Choosing where to live with location flexibility? Find cities where your income goes furthest.
Retirees
Planning retirement relocation? Compare tax burdens, housing costs, and overall affordability.
Researchers
Need reliable cost data for analysis? We source directly from US Census and Tax Foundation data.

Data Sources

All data comes from official US government and research sources — no crowdsourcing, no estimates, no guesswork:

  • U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 2023
    5-year estimates for median gross rent, median household income, median home values, monthly owner costs, and total population. Covers all incorporated places with 10,000+ population.
  • Tax Foundation — 2024 State Tax Data
    Top marginal income tax rates, state sales tax rates, and effective property tax rates for all 50 states plus DC.
  • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
    Affordability thresholds — the 30% rent-to-income ratio standard used across our analysis.

Cost Index Methodology

Our cost index uses the national median as a baseline of 100. A city with an index of 120 is 20% more expensive than the typical US city; an index of 80 is 20% cheaper.

The index is a weighted composite of three housing-related metrics:

40%
Median Rent
35%
Home Value
25%
Owner Costs

Housing is weighted heavily because it's typically the largest expense for American households (30-40% of income) and varies most dramatically between cities.

Affordability Ratio

The rent-to-income ratio measures what percentage of median household income goes to median rent. This is the standard metric used by HUD and housing economists:

  • Below 25% — Affordable — Comfortable margin for other expenses
  • 25–30% — Moderate — Manageable but less room to save
  • Above 30% — Cost-Burdened — HUD considers this financially strained

Site Statistics

4,176
City Profiles
44,855
Comparison Pages
51
States + DC
300
Cities Compared (All Pairs)

Disclaimer

This tool is for informational purposes only. Cost of living depends on many personal factors that a city-level database cannot capture:

  • Neighborhood-level price variation within a city
  • Personal lifestyle, family size, and spending habits
  • Specific employer benefits, remote work arrangements
  • Healthcare costs, childcare, and education
  • Grocery and utility costs (not included in our index)

Data reflects city-wide medians from the ACS 5-year estimates. Always do additional research for major financial decisions like relocation.

Contact

Found an error? Have a suggestion? We'd love to hear from you.
Email: hello@costtolive.com