Cheapest 2026
Mississippi
Index 83.3
2026 Edition | Updated May 2026
Cost of Living by State 2026: Complete Rankings, All 50 States
The full 2026 rankings, from Mississippi at 83.3 (the cheapest US state) to Hawaii at 193.3 (the most expensive, 2.3 times Mississippi's cost). Below: the complete sortable table, the year's biggest movers, and what the 2026 numbers say about regional clustering.
Most expensive 2026
Hawaii
Index 193.3
Below national avg
29 of 50
States with composite under 100
Above national avg
21 of 50
States with composite above 100
Complete rankings
All 50 states, cheapest to most expensive
| Rank | State | Composite | Housing | Median home | Median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi | 83.3 | 56.2 | $162,100 | $46,511 |
| 2 | West Virginia | 84.1 | 56.8 | $145,600 | $50,884 |
| 3 | Kansas | 84.8 | 62.0 | $207,600 | $64,521 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 84.9 | 60.8 | $196,500 | $56,956 |
| 5 | Arkansas | 86.0 | 62.0 | $192,800 | $52,528 |
| 6 | Missouri | 87.1 | 67.5 | $222,300 | $61,043 |
| 7 | Kentucky | 87.5 | 66.2 | $198,500 | $55,573 |
| 8 | Alabama | 87.9 | 66.8 | $216,500 | $56,950 |
| 9 | Iowa | 89.0 | 69.8 | $208,700 | $65,573 |
| 10 | Indiana | 89.4 | 72.1 | $227,800 | $61,944 |
| 11 | Louisiana | 89.6 | 72.5 | $198,200 | $52,295 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 89.7 | 75.8 | $298,500 | $59,695 |
| 13 | Ohio | 89.8 | 68.5 | $210,500 | $61,938 |
| 14 | Michigan | 90.3 | 72.8 | $235,400 | $63,498 |
| 15 | Nebraska | 90.8 | 74.5 | $246,800 | $65,720 |
| 16 | New Mexico | 91.3 | 81.2 | $287,500 | $53,992 |
| 17 | Georgia | 91.5 | 80.7 | $310,200 | $65,030 |
| 18 | Texas | 91.5 | 81.5 | $298,700 | $67,321 |
| 19 | South Carolina | 92.5 | 79.5 | $278,600 | $59,318 |
| 20 | Illinois | 93.4 | 80.7 | $262,500 | $72,205 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 93.5 | 79.2 | $265,800 | $67,125 |
| 22 | North Dakota | 94.5 | 81.2 | $248,500 | $66,519 |
| 23 | North Carolina | 94.9 | 85.5 | $318,600 | $62,891 |
| 24 | South Dakota | 95.2 | 86.5 | $285,400 | $63,920 |
| 25 | Wyoming | 95.8 | 86.2 | $298,500 | $65,003 |
| 26 | Idaho | 96.8 | 96.1 | $420,300 | $63,527 |
| 27 | Minnesota | 97.1 | 88.5 | $318,500 | $77,706 |
| 28 | Montana | 99.2 | 103.8 | $415,200 | $62,043 |
| 29 | Pennsylvania | 99.5 | 93.5 | $268,500 | $67,587 |
| 30 | Arizona | 102.2 | 107.8 | $394,200 | $69,056 |
| 31 | Delaware | 102.4 | 96.5 | $355,400 | $72,724 |
| 32 | Florida | 102.8 | 107.3 | $398,500 | $63,062 |
| 33 | Utah | 103.5 | 115.2 | $475,800 | $74,197 |
| 34 | Virginia | 103.7 | 112.8 | $385,200 | $80,615 |
| 35 | Nevada | 104.2 | 115.8 | $435,600 | $66,274 |
| 36 | Colorado | 105.1 | 118.9 | $525,600 | $82,254 |
| 37 | Washington | 110.7 | 130.2 | $568,500 | $82,228 |
| 38 | Rhode Island | 111.8 | 118.5 | $418,500 | $71,169 |
| 39 | Maine | 112.1 | 115.2 | $365,800 | $64,767 |
| 40 | New Hampshire | 112.5 | 120.2 | $425,800 | $83,449 |
| 41 | Connecticut | 112.8 | 113.0 | $395,100 | $83,771 |
| 42 | Oregon | 113.1 | 132.5 | $498,500 | $70,084 |
| 43 | Vermont | 114.5 | 123.5 | $378,500 | $65,792 |
| 44 | New Jersey | 115.2 | 128.5 | $472,500 | $85,245 |
| 45 | Maryland | 118.2 | 140.5 | $398,500 | $87,063 |
| 46 | New York | 126.5 | 155.8 | $435,800 | $74,314 |
| 47 | Alaska | 127.0 | 128.3 | $345,700 | $77,640 |
| 48 | California | 142.2 | 196.5 | $785,300 | $84,907 |
| 49 | Massachusetts | 148.4 | 210.5 | $598,700 | $89,645 |
| 50 | Hawaii | 193.3 | 318.6 | $978,200 | $84,857 |
Sources: C2ER Cost of Living Index 2026 vintage, BEA Regional Price Parities, Census ACS 5-year (median income, median home value), Zillow ZHVI. See methodology.
Regional clusters
Geographic patterns in the 2026 data
South + Plains: cheap cluster
Mississippi, Kansas, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, and Indiana all sit below composite 90. Housing is dramatically below national medians. Wages are correspondingly lower. The cluster is the first-choice for remote workers earning coastal salaries.
Northeast: expensive corridor
Massachusetts (148.4), New York (126.5), Maryland (118.2), New Jersey (115.2), Vermont (114.5), Connecticut (112.8), New Hampshire (112.5), Maine (112.1), and Rhode Island (111.8) form an unbroken high-cost band from DC to Maine. Housing, healthcare, and utilities all run above national average.
West Coast: HCOL trio
California (142.2), Washington (110.7), and Oregon (113.1) all sit above national average, driven by Bay Area, Seattle, and Portland housing markets. Eastern parts of each state (Central Valley CA, Eastern WA, Eastern OR) are dramatically cheaper.
Mountain West: middle
Colorado (105.1), Utah (103.5), Arizona (102.2), Nevada (104.2), and Montana (99.2) cluster near or just above national average. Idaho (96.8) and Wyoming (95.8) are slightly below. Front Range housing growth in Colorado, Phoenix metro expansion in Arizona are pushing the cluster upward.
Florida + Sun Belt: variable
Florida (102.8) is now above national average, driven by housing demand and the home-insurance crisis. Texas (91.5), Georgia (91.5), North Carolina (94.9), South Carolina (92.5) remain below national average. The Florida-vs-rest-of-Sun-Belt differential has widened since 2022.
Hawaii + Alaska: outliers
Hawaii (193.3) and Alaska (127.0) are categorically different from the lower 48 because of geographic isolation. Nearly every consumer good is shipped or flown in. Hawaii leads on housing (318.6 sub-index) and utilities (168.5); Alaska leads on healthcare (155.7) and utilities (169.8). These two states should be considered separately in any relocation analysis.
Year-over-year
The biggest 2024 to 2026 movers
Florida (+6.2 composite points since 2024). The dominant story is home insurance. Average Florida homeowner premium has risen roughly 60-75 percent since 2022 as private insurers exited the market and rates were re-priced to actual hurricane risk. Hurricane Ian (2022) and the subsequent reinsurance market dislocation pushed costs from $2,500/year averages to $3,500-6,500/year. The insurance component flows into the C2ER housing sub-index over time.
Idaho (+5.8 points). The Boise metro housing boom started in 2019 with California in-migration and has not fully cooled. Median home in Ada County (Boise) more than doubled from 2018 to 2024. Idaho construction has caught up slightly, but the cost increase has flowed through to rent and the broader index.
Tennessee (+4.5 points). Driven primarily by Nashville. Nashville MSA housing has risen 70 percent since 2018; the broader Tennessee composite has followed. The combination of corporate relocations, tourism (Music City), and no-state-income-tax appeal has put sustained upward pressure on cost. Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga have not seen the same pressure.
Decliners are mild. Mississippi (-1.2 points), West Virginia (-0.8), Oklahoma (-0.3). The declines reflect modest relative decreases in regional CPI rather than absolute price drops. No US state has seen meaningful cost-of-living deflation in the 2024 to 2026 window.
Frequently Asked
2026 cost of living rankings, answered
What is the cheapest state to live in for 2026?
Mississippi is the cheapest US state in 2026 with a C2ER composite index of 83.3, roughly 17 percent below the national average. Housing is the major driver: median home in Mississippi is $162,100 with a 2-bedroom rent of $810/month. Kansas (84.8), West Virginia (84.1), Oklahoma (84.9), and Arkansas (86.0) round out the top 5 cheapest. The cluster is concentrated in the South and Plains states. The trade-off in all five is below-average median household income; wages typically scale with cost of living.
What is the most expensive state to live in for 2026?
Hawaii at 193.3, by a wide margin. Hawaii's composite is 2.3 times Mississippi's. Geographic isolation, energy imports (electricity at 42.1 cents/kWh, highest in the country), and constrained housing supply drive the gap. Massachusetts (148.4) and California (142.2) follow on the mainland. New York (126.5), Alaska (127.0), and Maryland (118.2) round out the top 5 most expensive. Each top-5 state has a different cost driver: housing for MA and CA, distance and supply chain for HI and AK, NYC concentration for NY, federal-government wage absorption for MD.
How has cost of living shifted since 2024?
On a portfolio basis, cost of living has risen by about 5-7 percent nationally between the 2024 and 2026 vintages of the C2ER index, slightly below CPI inflation for the same period. The biggest movers since 2024: Florida (+6.2 points composite, driven by hurricane insurance cost), Idaho (+5.8 points, driven by housing demand), Tennessee (+4.5 points, driven by Nashville). The largest decliners: Mississippi (-1.2 points), West Virginia (-0.8 points), Oklahoma (-0.3 points). Most states moved less than 2 points.
How is the cost of living index calculated?
The C2ER Cost of Living Index uses a weighted average of six categories: housing (28 percent), groceries (13 percent), utilities (10 percent), transportation (12 percent), healthcare (4 percent), and miscellaneous goods and services (33 percent). Each category is benchmarked to a national average of 100, so a composite of 110 means 10 percent more expensive than the US average. The index does NOT include state and local taxes, which can swing the picture significantly. See our methodology page for full details on the source data and weights.
Why isn't tax burden included in the index?
The C2ER methodology was developed in the 1960s as a price-comparison tool for relocating professionals and chambers of commerce. It tracks the price of a fixed market basket of goods and services across cities, not the after-tax purchasing power of a salary. To get the full picture, layer the C2ER index against state-and-local tax burden data (the Tax Foundation publishes annual rankings) and salary equivalency math. Our two-state calculator and per-state pages combine cost-of-living with tax data to give the complete view.
What does the composite index mean for a household budget?
A 1-point difference in the composite is roughly a 1 percent difference in total monthly outlay for a typical fixed market basket. For a household spending $5,000 per month on the market basket, a state at index 110 would cost approximately $500 more per month than the US average; a state at index 90 would cost approximately $500 less. Housing is the largest swing factor; for households where housing is a smaller share of total budget (renters with low rent, owners with paid-off homes), the index overstates the effective difference.
Which state has the cheapest housing in 2026?
Mississippi housing sub-index is 56.2, the cheapest in the country. West Virginia (56.8), Arkansas (62.0), Oklahoma (60.8), and Alabama (66.8) follow. Median home prices in these states range from $145,000 to $218,000, all well below the US median. The cluster is the same as the overall cheapest states because housing dominates the composite. Outside these traditional cheap-housing states, Ohio (68.5) and Indiana (72.1) also have very affordable housing despite being industrial Midwest states.