InsightsCity totals July 2026
Cost of living for a family across 65 US metros, 2026
Family monthly baselines for 65 US metros covering all 50 states, ranked cheapest to dearest from the same cube as the calculator.
Average monthly spending for a family household is $5,030 in Charleston, WV and $11,400 in San Francisco, among the 65 US metros we cover. San Jose is next at $11,100. These are the same city baselines the Cost of Living Calculator uses. Rank 1 is the cheapest family total in this 65-metro set.
Key takeaways
- 01
Average monthly spending for a family household is $5,030 in Charleston, WV and $11,400 in San Francisco, among 65 US metros.
- 02
Of the $6,370 monthly gap between Charleston, WV and San Francisco, about $3,340 is housing and about $3,030 is everything else.
- 03
San Jose is $11,100. New York is $8,870, which is rank 57 in this set.
- 04
Honolulu, San Diego, and Boston also sit at the expensive end. Wichita and Little Rock sit near the cheap end.
- 05
Open the calculator and type your rent. Empty fields start as your inputs.
On this page: the table, what drives the gap, where San Francisco sits, and how we calculated this.
How to read this: a family household, in US dollars per month. City totals are average spending, not a median household. Housing uses HUD Fair Market Rents (a 40th percentile of gross rent, not an average rent). City totals are from the July 2026 cube (file 2026-09). Indicative estimate, not advice.
65 US metros, family household, USD / month
The 65-metro average is $7,385. That is a simple unweighted average of the 65 family totals, not a median city. Of the $6,370 monthly gap between Charleston, WV and San Francisco, about $3,340 is housing and about $3,030 is everything else.
| 1 | Charleston, WV | $5,030 | $910 | $470 | $1,090 | $760 | $340 | $650 | $340 | $470 |
| 2 | Wichita | $5,130 | $960 | $540 | $1,140 | $710 | $290 | $760 | $310 | $420 |
| 3 | Little Rock | $5,230 | $1,060 | $540 | $1,140 | $710 | $290 | $760 | $310 | $420 |
| 4 | Orlando | $5,320 | $2,190 | $390 | $890 | $630 | $270 | $510 | $120 | $320 |
| 5 | Tampa | $5,370 | $2,240 | $390 | $890 | $630 | $270 | $510 | $120 | $320 |
| 6 | Oklahoma City | $5,410 | $1,190 | $550 | $1,160 | $720 | $290 | $770 | $310 | $420 |
| 7 | Cleveland | $5,540 | $1,220 | $490 | $1,140 | $790 | $360 | $680 | $360 | $500 |
| 8 | Pittsburgh | $5,630 | $1,230 | $500 | $1,160 | $810 | $370 | $690 | $370 | $500 |
| 9 | Jackson, MS | $5,710 | $1,100 | $510 | $1,200 | $740 | $310 | $750 | $610 | $490 |
| 10 | Birmingham, AL | $5,860 | $1,130 | $520 | $1,240 | $760 | $310 | $770 | $630 | $500 |
| 11 | Detroit | $5,920 | $1,260 | $530 | $1,230 | $860 | $390 | $730 | $390 | $530 |
| 12 | New Orleans | $6,010 | $1,220 | $550 | $1,330 | $850 | $310 | $710 | $290 | $750 |
| 13 | San Antonio | $6,230 | $1,340 | $560 | $1,360 | $870 | $310 | $730 | $290 | $770 |
| 14 | Miami | $6,350 | $2,810 | $440 | $1,000 | $710 | $310 | $580 | $140 | $360 |
| 15 | Fargo | $6,400 | $1,130 | $480 | $1,330 | $730 | $310 | $870 | $730 | $820 |
| 16 | Austin | $6,420 | $1,850 | $590 | $1,250 | $780 | $320 | $830 | $340 | $460 |
| 16 | Sioux Falls | $6,420 | $1,180 | $470 | $1,330 | $730 | $310 | $860 | $720 | $820 |
| 18 | Louisville | $6,450 | $1,210 | $480 | $1,430 | $790 | $280 | $830 | $760 | $670 |
| 19 | St. Louis | $6,500 | $1,140 | $490 | $1,460 | $810 | $290 | $850 | $770 | $690 |
| 20 | Kansas City | $6,570 | $1,370 | $470 | $1,420 | $780 | $280 | $830 | $750 | $670 |
| 21 | Charlotte | $6,640 | $1,610 | $550 | $1,320 | $810 | $330 | $820 | $670 | $530 |
| 22 | Milwaukee | $6,660 | $1,210 | $500 | $1,490 | $820 | $290 | $860 | $790 | $700 |
| 23 | Columbus | $6,670 | $1,290 | $490 | $1,470 | $810 | $290 | $850 | $780 | $690 |
| 24 | Des Moines | $6,700 | $1,390 | $480 | $1,350 | $740 | $310 | $870 | $730 | $830 |
| 25 | Houston | $6,710 | $1,610 | $590 | $1,420 | $900 | $320 | $760 | $310 | $800 |
| 26 | Dallas | $6,720 | $1,910 | $620 | $1,320 | $820 | $330 | $880 | $360 | $480 |
| 27 | Albuquerque | $6,730 | $1,560 | $560 | $1,280 | $850 | $380 | $860 | $570 | $670 |
| 27 | Nashville | $6,730 | $1,750 | $550 | $1,300 | $800 | $330 | $810 | $660 | $530 |
| 27 | Omaha | $6,730 | $1,410 | $480 | $1,350 | $740 | $310 | $880 | $730 | $830 |
| 30 | Raleigh | $6,820 | $1,720 | $560 | $1,330 | $820 | $340 | $830 | $680 | $540 |
| 31 | Cheyenne | $6,850 | $1,200 | $500 | $1,470 | $950 | $360 | $930 | $460 | $980 |
| 32 | Atlanta | $6,870 | $1,700 | $570 | $1,350 | $830 | $340 | $840 | $690 | $550 |
| 32 | Indianapolis | $6,870 | $1,490 | $490 | $1,470 | $810 | $290 | $850 | $780 | $690 |
| 34 | Charleston, SC | $6,950 | $1,740 | $570 | $1,360 | $840 | $350 | $850 | $690 | $550 |
| 35 | Billings | $7,020 | $1,550 | $480 | $1,430 | $920 | $350 | $900 | $440 | $950 |
| 36 | Las Vegas | $7,340 | $1,930 | $580 | $1,340 | $890 | $400 | $910 | $590 | $700 |
| 37 | Phoenix | $7,540 | $1,950 | $600 | $1,390 | $920 | $420 | $930 | $610 | $720 |
| 38 | Philadelphia | $7,570 | $1,640 | $620 | $1,640 | $860 | $340 | $850 | $930 | $690 |
| 38 | Wilmington | $7,570 | $1,640 | $620 | $1,640 | $860 | $340 | $850 | $930 | $690 |
| 40 | Boise | $7,670 | $1,900 | $510 | $1,500 | $970 | $370 | $950 | $470 | $1,000 |
| 41 | Chicago | $7,680 | $1,860 | $530 | $1,590 | $880 | $310 | $920 | $840 | $750 |
| 42 | Salt Lake City | $7,820 | $1,910 | $520 | $1,540 | $1,000 | $380 | $970 | $480 | $1,020 |
| 43 | Richmond | $7,870 | $1,620 | $530 | $1,570 | $890 | $350 | $1,000 | $1,140 | $770 |
| 44 | Minneapolis | $7,880 | $1,800 | $550 | $1,540 | $850 | $360 | $1,000 | $840 | $940 |
| 45 | Newark | $7,950 | $2,300 | $570 | $1,590 | $930 | $340 | $810 | $840 | $570 |
| 46 | Virginia Beach | $8,200 | $1,940 | $530 | $1,580 | $890 | $350 | $1,000 | $1,140 | $770 |
| 47 | Providence | $8,210 | $1,600 | $570 | $1,720 | $830 | $290 | $930 | $1,580 | $690 |
| 48 | Anchorage | $8,270 | $1,830 | $530 | $1,760 | $970 | $370 | $870 | $1,050 | $890 |
| 49 | Hartford | $8,440 | $1,760 | $570 | $1,740 | $840 | $290 | $940 | $1,600 | $700 |
| 50 | Denver | $8,490 | $2,290 | $550 | $1,610 | $1,050 | $400 | $1,020 | $500 | $1,070 |
| 51 | Baltimore | $8,550 | $1,880 | $570 | $1,680 | $950 | $370 | $1,070 | $1,210 | $820 |
| 52 | Portland | $8,630 | $2,190 | $530 | $1,760 | $970 | $370 | $870 | $1,050 | $890 |
| 53 | Portland, ME | $8,750 | $2,120 | $570 | $1,730 | $840 | $290 | $930 | $1,580 | $690 |
| 54 | Los Angeles | $8,770 | $3,260 | $570 | $1,610 | $1,020 | $370 | $790 | $580 | $570 |
| 55 | Manchester, NH | $8,820 | $1,950 | $590 | $1,790 | $870 | $300 | $960 | $1,640 | $720 |
| 56 | Burlington | $8,850 | $2,290 | $560 | $1,710 | $830 | $290 | $920 | $1,570 | $680 |
| 57 | New York | $8,870 | $3,220 | $570 | $1,590 | $930 | $340 | $810 | $840 | $570 |
| 58 | Sacramento | $9,220 | $2,620 | $500 | $1,840 | $980 | $330 | $850 | $1,390 | $710 |
| 59 | Washington, DC | $9,310 | $2,360 | $590 | $1,750 | $990 | $390 | $1,110 | $1,260 | $860 |
| 60 | Seattle | $9,610 | $2,850 | $550 | $1,850 | $1,020 | $390 | $910 | $1,100 | $940 |
| 61 | Boston | $10,100 | $3,070 | $600 | $1,830 | $890 | $310 | $990 | $1,680 | $730 |
| 62 | Honolulu | $10,170 | $3,300 | $520 | $1,910 | $1,020 | $350 | $890 | $1,440 | $740 |
| 63 | San Diego | $10,220 | $3,530 | $630 | $1,650 | $1,140 | $470 | $990 | $1,130 | $680 |
| 64 | San Jose | $11,100 | $4,270 | $520 | $1,900 | $1,020 | $340 | $880 | $1,440 | $730 |
| 65 | San Francisco | $11,400 | $4,250 | $540 | $1,990 | $1,070 | $360 | $920 | $1,500 | $770 |
Rank 1 is the cheapest family total in this 65-metro set. Columns match the calculator. Entertainment and leisure includes recreation, alcohol, tobacco, and clothing. Metro names open the calculator for a family household. Click a column name to sort. Rank 1 is still the cheapest family total.
What drives the gap
If you rent, start with housing: $4,250 in San Francisco and $910 in Charleston, WV. Then look at the rest. Housing is the largest single line. It is not the whole $6,370 spread.
The cheapest total is not always the cheapest rent. Orlando and Tampa sit near the cheap end of the table with housing around $2,190 and $2,240, while Charleston, WV housing is $910. Orlando family and education is $120 in this cube, against $340 in Charleston, WV.
Where San Francisco sits
San Francisco is rank 65 of 65 in this family table, at $11,400 a month. San Jose is $11,100, with housing about the same ($4,270 next to $4,250). San Francisco's rest of spending is higher. New York is $8,870, rank 57. That is still a high row. It is not the top of this set.
How we calculated this
Housing is a rent-style occupancy cost from HUD Fair Market Rents (opens the source page) for that metro, using the three-bed default for a family household. Fair Market Rent is a 40th percentile of gross rent. We apply a small property-tax uplift, then subtract the utilities already inside HUD gross rent. Los Angeles uses the published FY2026 FMR revision (opens the source page).
Non-housing starts from the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey metro tables (opens the source page). Seventeen metros have a direct reading. The rest use a peer basket scaled by BEA regional price parities (opens the source page), then CPI (opens the source page). City totals in this file are from July 2026. The full notebook is How Justools estimates cost of living.
Sources
Every row is a deep permalink we could open when this page was drafted. Method is carry-forward: city totals in file 2026-09 were copied from July 2026. The Period column is the rent or survey vintage for that row.
| Owner | Dataset | Period | Method | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | Fair Market Rents, FY2026 | FY2026 | Carry-forward | HUD Fair Market Rents (opens the source page) |
| U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | Revised FY2026 FMRs for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale (91 FR 21301) | 2026-04 | Carry-forward | Los Angeles FY2026 FMR revision (opens the source page) |
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Consumer Expenditures, 2023 | 2023 | Carry-forward | BLS Consumer Expenditures 2023 (opens the source page) |
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Consumer expenditures by selected metro areas | 2023-24 | Carry-forward | BLS metro consumer expenditures (opens the source page) |
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Consumer Price Index | 2026-06 | Carry-forward | BLS Consumer Price Index (opens the source page) |
| U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (via FRED) | Regional Price Parities, metro areas | 2024 | Carry-forward | BEA regional price parities on FRED (opens the source page) |
When this number is wrong for you
- Neighborhoods inside a metro can differ more than two cities in this list. Type your rent.
- The housing line is a rent-style occupancy cost from HUD Fair Market Rent. If you own outright, your housing cost may be lower.
- Family and education is a survey default, not your school invoice.
- We do not model tax, benefits, or visa costs. Do not use a rank on an application.
Try it with your numbers
Empty cost fields in the calculator start as your inputs, not as a prefilled budget. Compare against the city baseline, then change the lines that do not match your life.
Related reports
Cost of living in Australian capitals, 2026 is another same-country rank. How Justools estimates cost of living is the method.
Frequently asked questions
What is the US cost of living on this page?
This page is an average monthly spending estimate for a family household across the 65 US metros in the Justools Cost of Living Calculator, in US dollars. Housing comes from HUD Fair Market Rents for that metro. Everything else comes from the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey, with a CPI bridge so the survey is not stuck in 2023. Seventeen metros have a direct CEX reading. The rest use a peer metro basket scaled by BEA regional price parities. Average monthly spending is $5,030 in Charleston, WV and $11,400 in San Francisco. Rank 1 is the cheapest family total in this 65-metro set. You can open the same city in the calculator and type your own rent.
Why rank 65 US metros this way?
A same-country table keeps every city in US dollars and on the same family household, so a job in Wichita can be weighed against one in Boston without mixing currencies. The 65 metros cover all 50 states. HUD publishes Fair Market Rents by metro and bedroom count. BLS publishes consumer expenditure for selected metros. The method page is the notebook. This page is the ranked family result, including a short look at where San Francisco sits in the same table.
Are these averages or medians?
The city totals and the non-housing lines are average spending, not a median household. An average (mean) adds amounts and divides. A median is the middle household if you lined them up from low to high. High spenders pull an average up, so a typical household often sits below, especially on leisure. Housing uses HUD Fair Market Rents, which are a 40th percentile of gross rent, not an average rent and not an asking price. The 65-metro figure is a simple unweighted average of the 65 family totals, not a median city. Type your rent in the calculator.
Why is San Francisco higher than New York in this table?
San Francisco is $11,400 a month for a family household. New York is $8,870, which is rank 57 in this set. Housing on the San Francisco family line is about $4,250. New York housing is about $3,220. The rest of spending is also higher in San Francisco. San Jose is $11,100, with housing about the same as San Francisco. Those are snapshot ranks from HUD rents and BLS spending, not a claim that your neighborhood or your lease will match. If you already own, or you pay school fees that do not match the family-education default, type those lines.
Does Single or Couple change who is cheapest?
Charleston, WV stays cheapest and San Francisco stays dearest for a single, couple, or family household in this snapshot. The dollar gap shrinks on the smaller households because they use a smaller housing band and they set family and education to zero. The calculator uses one-bed housing for single, two-bed for couple, and three-bed for family, from HUD Fair Market Rents. If your household is not that shape, type the rent.
What should I not use this table for?
Do not use it as a visa, immigration, tax, mortgage, or benefit application figure. Do not treat rank 1 as proof that Charleston, WV is cheaper for you after tax, school fees, or a mortgage you already hold. The housing line is a rent-style occupancy cost from HUD Fair Market Rent, which is a 40th percentile of gross rent for the metro, not your listing. Metro areas can be wider than the named city. Justools is not affiliated with HUD, BLS, or BEA.
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