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Map Shows How Cost of Living Compares in Every State
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. While Americans are growing more concerned about rising inflation all across the country, according to recent polls, the cost of living is wildly different depending on what state you find yourself in.
Oklahoma ranked as the most affordable state in the nation in the first quarter of 2026 in an analysis by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC), which scored each state from 0 to 100 based on costs ranging from groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, and health. The Sooner State, thanks to its low cost of living and affordable housing, had an overall score of 83.5, 16.5 percent below the national average.
At the other end was Hawaii, the least affordable state in the country, with an overall score of 184.8. That means the cost of living in the state was nearly 85 percent higher than the national average between January and March, according to MERIC, led by the extremely high cost of housing.
In general, the most expensive places to live were Hawaii, Alaska, the Northeast, and the West Coast, the same areas where housing has long been more expensive than anywhere else in the country.
The least expensive states were concentrated in the Midwest and South, the region where housing has traditionally been, and remains, more affordable.
This isn't a coincidence, as housing represents the single-largest expense for most U.S. households. In 2024, the latest available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics , housing accounted for 33.4 percent of a U.S. household’s total spending, or an average of $26,266 per year.
The top 10 states with the lowest cost of living in the first quarter of the year were, according to MERIC:
The bottom 10 states with the highest cost of living were:
The median household income in Oklahoma was $65,039, measured in 2024 dollars, over the 2020-2024 period, according to U.S. Census Bureau data—much lower than Hawaii’s median household income of $100,389 in the same time frame.
But the median sale price of a typical home in Oklahoma was $261,681 in June, according to Redfin data, while it was a staggering $747,600 in Hawaii. The national average, by comparison, was somewhere in between, at $408,776 in the same month.
That shows that while Oklahoma residents may have fewer dollars in their pockets at the end of the month, their money can stretch further than in states with higher incomes but a more elevated cost of living, such as Hawaii.
Thirty-five percent of Americans said inflation and the cost of living were the country’s most important issue—marking the fourth consecutive Marquette poll in which the two ranked first. The economy followed with 15 percent of respondents saying it was the top concern.
Recent increases in the cost of living, especially fuel prices, were top of mind. Nearly 80 percent of respondents said grocery and petrol prices had increased over the previous six months, and 69 percent said they expected inflation to continue rising over the next year. Only 19 percent said they were financially better off than a year ago.
Crucially, a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted between July 29 and August 3 found that 48 percent of Americans believe the cost of living would be their most important factor when deciding how to vote in the November midterms.
This issue is likely to turn against President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. According to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, Americans preferred Democrats over Republicans on handling the cost of living by 35 percent to 27 percent.
A strong majority of 70 percent of respondents disapproved of Trump’s handling of inflation and the cost of living.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Sam Wilson .
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