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Mint
6 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Manhattan, Honolulu and more: A look at 10 most expensive places to live in the US
Most expensive places in the US: Living in a vibrant city that is filled with multiple opportunities in life is a dream for many. Surviving in such localities often comes with a steep price tag and residents are happy to pay extra for various things such as housing and food to stay in cosmopolitan cities that offer all types of facilities and have great weather conditions. Council for Community and Economic Research, Kiplinger has come up with names of some of the highly expensive places to live in the United States. The cost of living index shows prices across 265 urban areas that go on to cover housing, transportation, healthcare, and other things. Famous for housing a wide range of universities and hospitals, the cost of living in Boston is 45.1 per cent above the US average. With a total population of more than 650,000, the city has a median household income of $96,931 against the country's average of $80.610. On an average, people are spending $703,600 to purchase a property in Boston, having an unemployment rate of 3.9 per cent. The rents here are around $4,066 a month, making it way more expensive than the national average of $1,600 a month, as per the C2ER data. San Diego is your place to be if you love beaches and are fond of nature. From surfing and sailing to hiking or even exploring the Balboa Park, this place caters to the needs of everybody. Having a total population of nearly 1,400,000, San Diego's cost of living is 46.3 per cent above the US average and median household income stands at $105,780. People on an average pay $923,900 to buy property in this city. Los Angeles is home to several Hollywood celebrities and is famous for its glamor and rich lifestyle. The cost of living here is 50.2 per cent above the national average, while the median household income is $79,701. Los Angeles is home for nearly 4,000,000 people and has an employment rate of 5.4 per cent. The median home value is $828,700. Holding the Guinness World Record for 'most ethnically diverse urban area on the planet,' the New York borough houses around 2,250,000 people and the cost of living here is 52.1 per cent above the US average. The median household income is $81,929 and the median home value is $692,500. Orange County (California) This place has a total population of about 3,135,000 and the unemployment rate is just 3.6 per cent. However, the cost of living is 60.1 per cent more than the country's average and the median household income is $110,042. You will have to spend roughly $961,400 to buy a property here. San Francisco (California) Known for having one of the highest living costs in the US (60.3 per cent above the national average), people need to pay $3,761 a month on average for an apartment in San Francisco, making it more than double the country's average. It has one of the lowest unemployment rates at 3.5 per cent. With the cost of living being 63.3 per cent more than the US average, Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City. It houses about 2,500,000 people and has a median household income of $76,912, while the median home value stands at $880,300. Yet another highly expensive city in the US, the cost of living in San Jose is 81.2 per cent above the national average. Close to 2,000,000 live in this city, which has a high median household income of $153,202. You have to pay nearly $1,393,400 to buy a property here. This remote Pacific paradise has a population of little over 340,000 and has a median household income of $84,907. The cost of living here is 82.3 per cent more than the US average and median home value is $831,600. Manhattan stands tall as the most expensive, with its cost of living being 132.6 per cent above the US average. It is home to about 1,600,000 citizens and has a median household income of $101,078. On an average, you need to spend $1,010,800 to purchase a property here. Manhattan, New York is the most expensive city to live in the country, according to Kiplinger. San Jose, California is often touted as the most unaffordable city. Hawaii is the most expensive state.
CNBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
The 10 worst U.S. states to retire—6 are in the South
There are a number of factors to take into consideration when choosing where you want to retire, including the lifestyle you want and your financial situation. In addition to looking for options that meet most of your needs, you'll want to consider any major downsides or trade-offs you'd have to make, such as a lack of accessible health care or a high cost of living. Financial services website Bankrate recently ranked all 50 states based on 15 metrics, including affordability, health care and weather, to determine the best and worst places to retire in the U.S. The study used data from a variety of sources, including the Council for Community and Economic Research, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The metrics were weighed according to survey responses gathered by Bankrate in May 2025 on what Americans say are their top priorities for choosing a retirement destination. As a result, affordability, weather and neighborhood safety influenced overall scores the most. Here are the 10 worst states to retire, according to Bankrate, where you may have to compromise when it comes to cost, safety and access to health care: Weather also played a significant role in landing several of these states at the bottom of the overall rankings. Louisiana ranked No. 39 for weather and Texas came in at No. 47 in that category. "Natural disasters really degraded the scores of almost every state across the Gulf. Texas, Florida — even states that you really think about as primary retirement destinations," Stephen Kates, a certified financial planner and Bankrate financial analyst, tells CNBC Make It. "They didn't do as well in the weather category because of their propensity to have hurricanes and other natural disasters." It can be helpful to consider these rankings and the metrics used to determine them, but ultimately, the best place for you to retire will depend on your personal preferences. Retiring in Louisiana or Oklahoma may look challenging based on these metrics, for example, but if that's where your family lives and you want to be close to them, it may be worth planning ahead and figuring out how to live well there, despite potential drawbacks. If living in a tax-friendly state is important to you, Wyoming may be your best fit, Kates says. The state came in at No. 3 overall and No. 1 for tax-friendliness. But you'd be giving up other potential amenities. "You pay very little state taxes, but you have little access to some of the other things that you may want," he says. "Wyoming is not great for arts and entertainment — it's a big, more rural place." Conditions can also vary greatly within a given state when it comes to metrics like neighborhood safety. State-level data can be a good place to start, but you may need to dig deeper or visit in person to determine if an area is right for you, especially if you're considering a big state like California or Texas, Kates says. "Where you live in California or Texas or Florida, or any state, is going to matter because we're aggregating a lot of data," he says. "If you live in Los Angeles, it's going to be very different than if you live in Sacramento or La Jolla; if you live in Dallas, very different [than] Houston." You may choose not to relocate in retirement, or prefer to wait until later on to make a move. As people live longer than they used to and thus may be retired longer, it's wise to think about your retirement in phases, Kates says. "It's a lot more than just putting a pin on the map and saying, 'This is the place,'" he says. "If you're going to live in retirement for 25 or 30 years, there's going to be phases of that. And how you figure that out is extremely relevant." If you want to dedicate time to traveling in your early retirement years, it may not make sense to also try to move your home base during that period. But a decade or so later, you may be more interested in settling down somewhere new. Kates calls these the "go, low-go and no-go" phases of retirement, alluding to idea that as you get older, you'll likely want or need to slow down.
CNBC
23-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
The 10 best U.S. states to retire—it's about more than 'just the number of sunny days and taxes'
White sandy beaches and mild, sunny climates have long been features of the archetypal American retirement. But perhaps not anymore. New Hampshire, a state known more for its skiing than its sunshine, was named the best U.S. state to retire in Bankrate's 2025 rankings. The financial services website ranked all 50 states based on 15 metrics, including affordability, health care and weather. The study used data from a variety of sources, including the Council for Community and Economic Research, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The metrics were weighed according to survey responses gathered by Bankrate in May 2025 on what Americans say are their top priorities for choosing a retirement destination. As a result, affordability, weather and neighborhood safety influenced overall scores the most. Retirees won't be flocking to New Hampshire for its climate, it seems, as it ranked 40th in the country for weather. But it earned the No. 1 spot for neighborhood safety and landed in the top 10 for health care, tax-friendliness and number of residents aged 65 or older. Here are the 10 best states to retire in 2025, according to Bankrate: Notably, three other New England states joined New Hampshire in the top 10 — Maine, Vermont and Rhode Island — despite the region's relatively poor weather ratings and the high cost of living in certain states. Also notable: No Sun Belt states, such as Florida, North Carolina or Arizona, made the cut. States in this region often attract retirees and place high in similar rankings due to their mild climates and tax-friendliness, as is the case in Florida. "Our survey results may be shocking to any retirees who only considered warm weather and income taxes in their relocation plans," Stephen Kates, a certified financial planner and Bankrate financial analyst, said in the report. "We incorporated 15 different data points into our analysis for a comprehensive perspective on the true costs of retirement across different states." While weather was the second-heaviest weighted category, neighborhood safety and health care were nearly as important in Bankrate's rankings, pushing up overall scores for Northeastern states with less-favorable weather. Preferable climates also tend to come at a high cost. California ranked No. 1 for weather, but No. 46 for affordability and No. 48 for local taxes, per Bankrate's analysis, putting it at No. 43 overall. Although New Mexico earned the No. 2 spot for weather, it came in last for safety, putting its overall ranking at No. 42. "There is more to being a resident than just the number of sunny days and taxes," Kates said. "Categories like public safety, walkability, access to health care, air quality, recreational opportunities and more add up to the daily quality of life retirees want."
CNBC
11-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
These are America's most expensive states in 2025, where inflation still hits hardest
One of the biggest problems with inflation is that once it has burrowed into an economy, it is very difficult to rid of it. Just when Federal Reserve policymakers thought they might have finally gotten the better of the inflation that gripped the U.S. economy following the pandemic, along came the specter of tariffs. Inflation varies by location. Corporate executives know this, too. As they seek locations that are more attractive to prospective employees, living costs are a key consideration. That is why we consider Cost of Living as one of ten categories of competitiveness in CNBC's annual rankings of America's Top States for Business. Under this year's methodology, the category is worth 2.4% of a state's overall score. We rate the states based on an index of prices for a broad range of goods and services calculated by the Council for Community and Economic Research, or C2ER. We also consider housing affordability. And, with an insurance crisis spreading across the country, we measure the cost to insure a median-priced home based on the most recent available data. Some states are seeing relatively tame inflation, even now. But others, like the states we are about to tour, are more susceptible to higher prices. Based on the 2025 Cost of Living category points totals — which results in some tie scores between states though only one that can be called the nation's "most expensive" — here are America's most expensive states to live in, along with average prices in 2024 of some basic items in key metro areas. According to the city's website, Surprise, Arizona, located northwest of Phoenix, got its name in 1938 when its founder, Flora Mae Statler, declared that she would be surprised if the town ever amounted to much. Today, the name might also refer to the reaction when people open their utility bills in Arizona. The total energy bill per household in the community of around 143,000 people is nearly three times as much as in Monroe, Louisiana, largely because of all the air conditioning. But people keep coming to the Grand Canyon State, and that is raising housing costs. Nearly one-third of Arizonans — among the highest percentage of any state — are paying more than 30% of their household income for housing. 2025 Cost of Living Score: 22 out of 60 points (Top States Grade: D) Consumer Price Index (May, West Region): +2.4% Annual Homeowner's Insurance: $3,243 Average Home Price (Surprise): $445,836 Dozen Eggs (2024): $2.94 Monthly Energy Bill: $355.73 The Pelican State has historically been an inexpensive place to live, and basic items are still affordable. But much of what you save at the supermarket, you'll likely be turning over to the insurance company in Louisiana. Louisianans pay the second-highest homeowners premiums in the nation after Florida, and they saw the biggest increases this year — up 27%, according to online insurance marketplace Insurify. The state's extreme weather is the major factor. The increases are infuriating residents, and sending lawmakers scrambling for solutions. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed multiple bills into law in May to try to address this, including tort reform and a measure giving the state insurance commissioner more control over premium increases. 2025 Cost of Living Score: 22 out of 60 points (Top States Grade: D) Consumer Price Index (May, South Region): +2% Annual Homeowner's Insurance: $13,937 Average Home Price (New Orleans): $812,851 Dozen Eggs (2024): $3.19 Total Energy Bill: $116.30 As new residents flock to the Lone Star State, they are putting enormous pressure on the housing supply — and on prices. The median sale price statewide is up around 40% over the last five years, according to Redfin, though prices have begun to level off and even decline in some spots. Still, Texas housing costs take a big bite out of household budgets: about 32% of Texas homeowners and renters are paying one-third of their income or more on housing costs, according to the Census Bureau. And that doesn't include the rapidly rising cost of homeowners insurance as the nationwide crisis grows. Texas homeowners pay the fifth-highest premiums in the nation. 2025 Cost of Living Score: 22 out of 60 points (Top States Grade: D) Consumer Price Index (May, South Region): +2% Annual Homeowner's Insurance: $6,522 Average Home Price (Dallas): $477,656 Dozen Eggs (2024): $3.13 Total Energy Bill: $251.78 Getting your greens in the Evergreen State will cost you some extra green. A bag of frozen sweet peas in Kent goes for about 30% more than it does in Salt Lake City. Housing is also expensive in Washington State. A state advisory commission found last year that a lack of affordable housing has reached "critical levels" statewide, leading to increased homelessness, housing instability and higher living costs, especially for low- and moderate-income families. The state Commerce Department's Affordable Housing Advisory Board recommended more funding for affordable housing, reducing regulatory hurdles for new construction, and promoting new types of housing, all aimed at building the one million homes the group said are needed over the next 20 years. 2025 Cost of Living Score: 22 out of 60 points (Top States Grade: D) Consumer Price Index (May, West Region): +2.4% Annual Homeowner's Insurance: $1,995 Average Home Price (Kent): $846,547 Dozen Eggs (2024): $3.63 Total Energy Bill: $164.21 One of the key ingredients of authentic Maryland crab cakes — in addition to authentic Maryland crab meat— is eggs. And they are even pricier in Bethesda than in the rest of the country. C2ER took its price surveys in the first half of 2024, so the data doesn't reflect the price spike earlier this year. But the regional differences remain roughly constant. A dozen eggs in Bethesda are nearly 30% more expensive than they are in Portland, Maine. The Old Line State is also not holding the line on housing prices, with increases surpassing the national average. But Maryland has so far dodged the worst of the insurance crisis. 2025 Cost of Living Score: 21 out of 60 points (Top States Grade: D) Consumer Price Index (May, South Region): +2% Annual Homeowner's Insurance: $2,385 Average Home Price (Bethesda): $995,716 Dozen Eggs (2024): $3.79 Total Energy Bill: $233.99 When it comes to the price of basic goods, the Bay State is the most expensive state in the continental United States (Only Hawaii has higher living costs). A major reason is the cost of housing. Roughly 34% of homeowners and renters in Massachusetts are paying more than a third of their household income on housing, according to the Census Bureau. The numbers are distorted somewhat by prices in the Boston area, where the average home price is more than $1 million, and apartment rents are roughly five times what they are paying in Des Moines, Iowa. Nonetheless, The other high costs have sparked growing concerns that young people are being priced out of Boston, and Massachusetts in general. That is a problem not just for the vibrancy of the city, but for companies wanting to attract workers. The only reason Massachusetts does not finish lower on this list is that it still has some of the most affordable homeowners insurance in the country. 2025 Cost of Living Score: 21 out of 60 (Top States Grade: D) Consumer Price Index (May, Boston-Cambridge-Newton): Up 3% Annual Homeowner's Insurance: $2,432 Average Home Price (Boston Metro): $1,039,939 Dozen Eggs (2024): $3.03 Total Energy Bill: $371.03 While it would be easy to blame New York City for skewing average costs higher in the rest of the Empire State, the fact is that in all but one of New York's ten metropolitan areas (Utica-Rome), home prices are above the national median of $422,800. Of course, there are some places in the state that are way, way above the national average, like Manhattan, where a new home purchase will cost you about seven times the national median. A 2024 report from the office of State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that 2.9 million New Yorkers are "cost burdened" when it comes to housing, meaning they are paying more than 30% of their income on housing. And a sizeable portion of that group is "severely cost burdened," which means they are paying more than half their income on housing. 2025 Cost of Living Score: 18 out of 60 points (Top States Grade: D–) Consumer Price Index (May, Northeast Region): +2.4% Annual Homeowner's Insurance: $2,855 Average Home Price (Manhattan): $2,775,821 Dozen Eggs (2024): $3.98 Total Energy Bill: $250.27 The cost of housing is chewing up household budgets in the Beaver State. One-third of Oregonian homeowners and renters are paying more than 30% of their household income on housing. But life can be expensive in other ways as well in Oregon. A loaf of bread in Portland, Oregon, will cost you 12% more than it would in Portland, Maine. According to MIT's Living Wage Calculator, a living wage for a family of four in Oregon, where two adults hold jobs outside the home, is $31.48 per person. In Alabama, each adult would need to earn only $23.38. 2025 Cost of Living Score: 18 out of 60 points (Top States Grade: D–) Consumer Price Index (May, West Region): +2.4% Annual Homeowner's Insurance: $1,807 Average Home Price (Portland): $723,737 Dozen Eggs (2024): $3.57 Total Energy Bill: $167.18 Homeowners insurance premiums have been skyrocketing in the Centennial State — projected to rise another 11% this year, according to online insurance marketplace Insurify. That is, if you can even get insurance. More and more Colorado homeowners are getting non-renewal notices as insurers pull back from wildfire risks in the state. In an effort to ease costs, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis in May signed a bill that requires insurance companies to offer discounts to policyholders who take risk mitigation measures, such as establishing defensible space around their property, or hardening their home against wildfires. It is not yet clear if the new law will meaningfully lower premiums as the fires grow more intense — and more expensive. 2025 Cost of Living Score: 12 out of 60 points (Top States Grade: F) Consumer Price Index (May, West Region): +2.4% Annual Homeowner's Insurance: $6,630 Average Home Price (Denver): $650,555 Dozen Eggs (2024): $2.98 Total Energy Bill: $169.80 The Sunshine State isn't always sunny, of course, especially during hurricane season. Storms are growing more frequent — and severe. That has led to the worst homeowners insurance crisis in the country. In 2022 and 2023, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a series of reforms into law, including measures making it harder to sue insurance companies. It has taken time, but DeSantis now says insurers are coming back to the state, and premiums have slowly begun to level off. Nonetheless, Floridians are still paying the highest homeowners insurance premiums in the nation. Florida also has a serious home affordability problem. More than 36% of Florida homeowners and renters are paying more than one-third of their household incomes on housing. Only Hawaii and California have a higher percentage of cost-burdened homeowners and renters. 2025 Cost of Living Score: 10 out of 60 points (Top States Grade: F) Consumer Price Index (May, South Region): +2% Annual Homeowner's Insurance: $15,460 Average Home Price (Miami-Dade County): $711,025 Dozen Eggs (2024): $3.77 Total Energy Bill: $220.47 Life is full of trade-offs in the Aloha State. On the one hand, you get to live in paradise. On the other hand, you will pay some mind-boggling costs to live there. Like $2.37 for a head of lettuce in Honolulu, versus $1.87 in Richmond, Indiana. The high prices go beyond the grocery store. A visit to the optometrist will set you back almost $260, compared to just $102 in Valdosta, Georgia. But notably, Hawaii has not yet seen the brunt of the insurance crisis. While premiums are projected to rise around 17% this year, Hawaiians are still paying among the lowest premiums in the nation. 2025 Cost of Living Score: 9 out of 60 points (Top States Grade: F) Consumer Price Index (May, Honolulu Area): +2.7% Annual Homeowner's Insurance: $1,808 Average Home Price (Honolulu): $1,681,170 Dozen Eggs (2024): $3.98 Total Energy Bill: $529.02 The Golden State seems aptly named. Living costs in California, all things considered, are the highest in the nation. Nearly 40% of California homeowners and renters are paying more than one-third of their incomes for housing, the largest percentage of cost-burdened households in any state. The average home price in San Jose — the average! — is $1.86 million, according to C2ER. California homeowner's insurance premiums were already rising before the horrific Southern California wildfires in January. After the fires, the state's largest insurer, State Farm, managed to get California's insurance regulator to approve a 17% premium hike, but only after threatening to leave the state. State Farm isn't done trying to raise rates, however. The company noted in a blog post in May that it had originally asked for 30%, and that is what it is holding out for. A hearing on State Farm's request for the remaining 13% is expected this year, the company said. 2025 Cost of Living Score: 6 out of 60 points (Top States Grade: F) Consumer Price Index (May, West Region): +2.4% Annual Homeowner's Insurance: $2,930 Average Home Price (Orange County): $1,489,355 Dozen Eggs (2024): $2.96 Total Energy Bill: $250.56
Axios
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
A long 2026 campaign gives Mass. GOP hopefuls time to knock Healey
👋🏻 Deehan here, back with Spill of the Hill, my column unraveling Massachusetts politics. Election Day 2026 is over a year and a half away, but at least one Republican who wants to unseat Gov. Maura Healey is giving himself an extra-long runway. Former Baker administration housing and economic development secretary Mike Kennealy said he's running last week. Why it matters: Launching a GOP campaign for governor 18 months before the election gives Kennealy, and whoever else jumps in after him, plenty of time to work on two things: Find out where Healey is most vulnerable And distance their campaign from President Trump's GOP brand. Healey is most open to attack on the issue she campaigned on almost exclusively in 2022: the cost of living in Massachusetts. National factors outside Beacon Hill's control are at play, but costs have continued to go up throughout Healey's term, according to data from the Council for Community and Economic Research. The research outfit's composite cost index for Boston rose from 149.9 to 152.2 between quarter one of 2023, when Healey entered office, to quarter four of last year. Costs went up for housing, groceries, utilities, health care and transportation. What they're saying: "She's dropped the ball on every issue that matters. Costs are too high, taxes are too high, energy bills are too high," Brian Shortsleeve, former board member and later acting general manager of the MBTA under former Gov. Charlie Baker, told Axios. Shortsleeve says he's thinking about his own run for governor and has been talking to "grassroots Republicans" around the state, where he says he's received a "great response." Between the lines: Healey's job approval rating was just above water, 52%, in a UMass poll conducted in February. Yes, but: The governor's reputation with lower-income and less-educated voters shows signs of a significant split in the coalition that won her 64% of the vote in 2022. Healey's approval rating among those with high school educations or less dropped from 54% in October to 37% in February. Her approval from voters making less than $40,000 a year went from 58% to 40% over the same time. Before any Republican can take advantage of Healey's weaknesses, they'll have to appeal to unenrolled voters enough to be viable in November. Remember, Massachusetts voters are 26% Democrat, 8% Republican and 65% unenrolled. And since Trump is still far from popular in the Bay State, GOP hopefuls might want to show voters they aren't on board with this White House's policies or tactics. For Kennealy, that meant touting his connections to his old boss, Baker — no one's idea of a MAGA Republican. The candidate went so far in distancing himself from the GOP that he neglected to include his party affiliation in his campaign launch materials. It was later confirmed that, yes, he's a Republican. That didn't stop the Mass. Democratic Party from labeling him "MAGA Mike" in a video response to his candidacy.
