2026 Social Security COLA
2.8%
Benefit raise, fixed for all of 2026.
2026 Edition | Updated June 2026
Cost of Living Increase 2026 by State
Direct answer: the 2026 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is 2.8 percent. But actual consumer prices rose 4.2 percent over the year to May 2026 (BLS CPI-U), and the increase was uneven across the country: fastest in the Northeast and Midwest (both 5.0 percent), slowest in the West (3.5 percent). There is no official 50-state inflation figure, so the four census regions below are the closest geographic breakdown.
Actual inflation (CPI-U)
4.2%
12 months to May 2026, all items.
Fastest-rising region
5.0%
Northeast and Midwest, year to May 2026.
By census region
Cost of living increase by region, year to May 2026
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports CPI-U inflation for four census regions rather than for individual states. These are the 12-month all-items increases for the year ending May 2026 (released 10 June 2026). Each state inherits its region’s figure.
Northeast
+5.0%
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont
Midwest
+5.0%
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin
South
+3.9%
Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C.
West
+3.5%
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
National CPI-U, all items, 12 months to May 2026: +4.2%.
State lookup
2026 cost of living increase by state
Because there is no official per-state inflation index, each state below carries its census region’s 12-month CPI-U increase for the year ending May 2026. Use this for the rate of change; for how expensive a state is in absolute terms, see the 2026 cost of living index.
| State | Census region | Increase (yr to May 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | South | +3.9% |
| Alaska | West | +3.5% |
| Arizona | West | +3.5% |
| Arkansas | South | +3.9% |
| California | West | +3.5% |
| Colorado | West | +3.5% |
| Connecticut | Northeast | +5.0% |
| Delaware | South | +3.9% |
| Florida | South | +3.9% |
| Georgia | South | +3.9% |
| Hawaii | West | +3.5% |
| Idaho | West | +3.5% |
| Illinois | Midwest | +5.0% |
| Indiana | Midwest | +5.0% |
| Iowa | Midwest | +5.0% |
| Kansas | Midwest | +5.0% |
| Kentucky | South | +3.9% |
| Louisiana | South | +3.9% |
| Maine | Northeast | +5.0% |
| Maryland | South | +3.9% |
| Massachusetts | Northeast | +5.0% |
| Michigan | Midwest | +5.0% |
| Minnesota | Midwest | +5.0% |
| Mississippi | South | +3.9% |
| Missouri | Midwest | +5.0% |
| Montana | West | +3.5% |
| Nebraska | Midwest | +5.0% |
| Nevada | West | +3.5% |
| New Hampshire | Northeast | +5.0% |
| New Jersey | Northeast | +5.0% |
| New Mexico | West | +3.5% |
| New York | Northeast | +5.0% |
| North Carolina | South | +3.9% |
| North Dakota | Midwest | +5.0% |
| Ohio | Midwest | +5.0% |
| Oklahoma | South | +3.9% |
| Oregon | West | +3.5% |
| Pennsylvania | Northeast | +5.0% |
| Rhode Island | Northeast | +5.0% |
| South Carolina | South | +3.9% |
| South Dakota | Midwest | +5.0% |
| Tennessee | South | +3.9% |
| Texas | South | +3.9% |
| Utah | West | +3.5% |
| Vermont | Northeast | +5.0% |
| Virginia | South | +3.9% |
| Washington | West | +3.5% |
| West Virginia | South | +3.9% |
| Wisconsin | Midwest | +5.0% |
| Wyoming | West | +3.5% |
Sources: Social Security Administration 2026 COLA fact sheet (24 October 2025); BLS Consumer Price Index Summary and regional CPI news releases for May 2026 (released 10 June 2026). State-to-region mapping follows the US Census Bureau’s four statistical regions. See methodology.
Reading the numbers
COLA, CPI and the index are three different things
The 2.8 percent COLA is a benefit raise, not the current inflation rate. It is calculated from the CPI-W over a fixed window (third quarter 2024 to third quarter 2025) and locked in for all of 2026. Because it looks backward, it lags the current pace of prices in a year when inflation is re-accelerating.
The 4.2 percent CPI-U is what a household actually experiences now. It measures how much more the same basket of goods and services costs than a year ago, through May 2026. Energy was the biggest single contributor over the year, which is why the cold-climate Northeast and Midwest regions ran hotter than the West.
The cost of living index is a level, not a change. The C2ER composite used across this site (US average = 100) tells you how expensive a state is compared with others at one point in time. A state can be expensive in level terms yet have a below-average increase this year, or the reverse. For a relocation decision, use the index for how expensive a state is and this page for how fast that cost is rising.
Plan from the CPI, not the COLA headline. With current inflation near 4 percent and the benefit adjustment at 2.8 percent, fixed-income households lose a little purchasing power over the year. Budgeting from the current CPI rather than the COLA is the more conservative approach.
Frequently Asked
Cost of living increase 2026, answered
How much is the cost of living increase for 2026?
There are two different numbers, and they answer different questions. The 2026 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is 2.8 percent, announced by the Social Security Administration on 24 October 2025 and applied to benefits from January 2026. That figure is a fixed, nationwide raise tied to the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2024 to the third quarter of 2025. Separately, actual consumer prices rose 4.2 percent over the 12 months ending May 2026 (BLS Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, released 10 June 2026), which is what a household actually experiences at the till. The COLA looks backward at last year's inflation, so in a year when prices are re-accelerating it lags the current rate.
Does the cost of living increase vary by state?
Officially it varies by region, not by individual state. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a 50-state inflation index. The closest geographic breakdown is the four census regions. For the 12 months ending May 2026, the all-items CPI-U rose 5.0 percent in the Northeast, 5.0 percent in the Midwest, 3.9 percent in the South, and 3.5 percent in the West. The national figure was 4.2 percent. So a household in the Northeast or Midwest saw prices rise noticeably faster than one in the West this year.
Why did prices rise more in the Northeast and Midwest than the West?
The regional gap in 2026 is driven mainly by energy and shelter. Cold-climate regions carry a larger home-heating and electricity weight, and utility and energy costs were among the fastest-rising categories over the year (the national energy index rose 3.9 percent in May alone). The West, which had led inflation in earlier years on the back of housing, saw shelter cost growth cool relative to the rest of the country. Regional rankings shift year to year, so this ordering reflects the 12 months to May 2026 specifically, not a permanent pattern.
Is the 2.8 percent COLA the same as the inflation rate?
No, and conflating the two is the most common mistake. The COLA is a benefit adjustment, not a measure of current inflation. It is calculated from the CPI-W over a fixed window (Q3 2024 to Q3 2025) and locked in for the whole of 2026. Current inflation, measured by the CPI-U over the most recent 12 months, was running at 4.2 percent as of May 2026. When current inflation is higher than the COLA, fixed-income households effectively lose purchasing power during the year, because their raise was set from an earlier, lower inflation reading.
What is the difference between a cost of living increase and the cost of living index?
They measure different things. A cost of living increase (inflation, or a COLA) is a change over time: how much more the same basket of goods costs this year versus last. The cost of living index used elsewhere on this site (the C2ER composite, US average = 100) is a level: how expensive one state is compared with another at a single point in time. A state can be expensive in level terms (Hawaii at 193.3) while its year-over-year increase is below average, or cheap in level terms while its prices are rising quickly. For a relocation decision you want both: the index tells you how expensive a state is today, the increase tells you how fast that is changing.
How does the 2026 increase compare with recent years?
The 2026 COLA of 2.8 percent is slightly above the 2.5 percent applied for 2025, reflecting a recent uptick in inflation. On the price side, the 4.2 percent CPI-U reading for the year to May 2026 is higher than the sub-3 percent pace seen through much of 2024, driven largely by energy. The takeaway for planning: cost of living increases in 2026 are running ahead of the benefit adjustment, so budget from the current CPI (about 4 percent) rather than the 2.8 percent COLA headline.