Americans’ lifestyle is mostly determined by their income. Another factor, however, is where they live. The cost of everyday necessities, like food, transportation, and rent, varies considerably nationwide and can impact how far an income can stretch.

The cost of living even among the cities considered the most expensive places in their state also varies widely. In the most expensive place in Alabama, a dollar goes about as far as it would in the least expensive place in California. This is the value of a dollar in every state.

These differences in cost of living can be stark not just from state to state, but also city to city within the same state. 24/7 Wall St. compared regional price parity among metropolitan areas, with data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, to determine the most expensive city in every state.

In some states, even the most expensive metro area has a cheaper cost of living than the state as a whole, indicating that goods and services are more expensive outside of major metro areas. Several states, like Delaware, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, have only one metropolitan statistical area, so these places are the most expensive by default. 

A higher than average cost of living can indicate that a given city is an especially desirable place to live. However, the most expensive city in a state is not necessarily the best city to live in that state. Based on over two dozen measures that can impact overall quality of life, these are the best cities to live in every state.

Click here to see the most expensive city in every state
Click here to read our methodology