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If you're relocating for business, moving to another city, or simply planning a vacation, you might be curious about the most expensive cities in the United States. Understanding how much it costs to live in a city, and why, can make or break a decision to move.
Not surprisingly, New York and California cities dominate the list of America’s priciest cities. All figures are updated as of June 2024, unless otherwise specified.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Cities offer a variety of employment opportunities along with loads of culture, sports, dining, and entertainment.
- The desire to live in cities can make them quite expensive.
- New York City's Manhattan borough is the most costly place to live, followed by Honolulu, Hawaii and San Jose, California.
- Boston, Massachusetts rounds out the top 10 most expensive cities in the U.S.
- There are a number of factors that contribute to the high cost of living in major cities, including housing and taxes.
The 1. Manhattan
New York City's Manhattan borough leads the pack as the most expensive city in the United States. Out of the estimated 8.26 million people who call New York City home, about 1.60 million live in Manhattan. The cost of living in Manhattan is more than twice the national average.
Seemingly everything costs more in New York City, from groceries to housing. The median sold home price in Manhattan is about $936,000, compared with a national median of about $359,000.
The city’s unemployment is 4.8%. That compares with a national unemployment rate of 4.0%.
The 2. Honolulu
Honolulu is the second most expensive place to live in the U.S. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated a population of nearly one million in the island city.
Residents here pay a lot of money for just about everything. Groceries run about 24% higher than the national average, while utilities cost over twice as much. Yet paychecks are not that much higher to compensate. The median household income in Honolulu is about $99,800. This is better than the national median of about $74,600 but falls well short of a median household income of about $136,700 for San Francisco.
Honolulu's unemployment rate is 2.8%.
The 3.San Jose
San Jose is in the Bay Area along with number 4 on this list, San Francisco. It has a population of about 970,000. Buying a home in San Jose is expensive: values hover around $1.5 million, according to Zillow. The median household income for the city was about $136,000.
The 4. San Francisco
People make the decision to leave San Francisco every day. The city's estimated population is about 809,000. It's no surprise, as the city’s staggeringly high cost of living and out-of-reach housing prices have been known to break the bank. Median home prices are nearly $1.3 million inside the city, whose major industries include tourism, IT, and financial services.
San Francisco ranks among the top five most expensive cities for groceries and utilities. Grocery items cost roughly 23% above the national average, and utilities cost about twice the national average.
A family of four with both adults working would need about $169,600 in household income before taxes just to make ends meet. On the other hand, unemployment is at an estimated 3.9%.
The 5. Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the second borough of New York City to land on this list. The area is known for some key attractions, including Coney Island and Prospect Park.
The population in Brooklyn is higher than the more expensive Manhattan, with nearly 2.6 million residents. The median home value of Kings County is $836,000. The average rent in the borough is around $3,600, or a total of $43,200 for the entire year.
Housing and taxes are two major contributors to the high cost of living in most of the expensive cities in the United States.
The 6. Orange County
Considering Orange County? If you plan to call this area home, you'll join about 3.1 million other people. Keep in mind that you'll be in a place that has a big concentration of Fortune 500 companies and celebrities. It's also home to some of the country's best waters if you love to surf.
If you're looking for respite from the high price of areas like San Francisco, think again. Home values here top $1 million. That's quite a pretty penny, considering the median household income is about $109,000. The unemployment rate is 3.7%.
The 7. Los Angeles
Los Angeles brings to mind wealthy, glamorous movie stars, but the movie and television industry actually plays a small role in the city’s booming economy. The city's shipping industry also plays a role, as the Port of Los Angeles is one of the busiest ports in the world. A bustling manufacturing sector and a noteworthy start-up scene contribute to the city’s high cost of living. Certain ZIP codes, such as the famous 90210, drive up housing costs.
There are about 3.8 million people living in the city. The median home value in Los Angeles is about $973,000. The median household income is around $76,200. A family of four with two working adults would need a pre-tax income of roughly $140,000 to make ends meet in Los Angeles. 16.6% of the city's residents live below the poverty line, compared with 11.5% nationally.
The 8.Queens
Queens is the third borough of New York City to be featured on this list. As the largest borough, it is home to the city's two airports, John F. Kennedy International Airport and La Guardia Airport. (Newark International Airport, which also serves the New York metro area, is located in nearby Newark, New Jersey.)
About 2,250,000 people live in Queens, and the median household income is around $82,400. The borough has a median home value of about $686,000. 13.1% of the borough's residents live in poverty.
The 9. Washington, D.C.
Being at the center of the country's political power accounts for Washington, D.C.’s high cost of living. Government and private-sector jobs abound in the city, thanks to numerous federal agencies, think tanks, lobbying firms, and a robust tourism sector.
About 679,000 people call the area home. Median home values stand at approximately $622,000, and the median household income is about $102,000. A family of four with both adults working needs about $135,000 in income before taxes to make ends meet in Washington, D.C.
The 10. Boston
Roughly 654,000 people live in Boston. Utilities and health care cost a lot of money in Massachusetts, exceeding the average national cost by 49% for utilities and nearly 24% for health care. Boston enjoys a robust higher education environment, a booming tech scene that rivals Silicon Valley, and historic sites dating back to the 13 original colonies, which makes it one of the nation’s leading tourist destinations.
All of these add up to an unemployment rate of 2.9% in Boston and the surrounding areas. The median home value hovers around $750,000. Household income is about $89,000, which is a little over half of what a family of four needs in pre-tax income (about $160,000) to make ends meet.
What Are the 3 Most Expensive Cities in the United States?
The American three cities where you can expect to fork out the most money to live include New York City's Manhattan borough, Honolulu, and San Jose, according to the Council for Community and Economic Research. The organization publishes quarterly updates about the cost of living in the most and least expensive cities.
Why Are Cities So Expensive?
There are various factors that affect the cost of living in cities, especially major metropolises. One of the most obvious reasons is the cost of housing, whether you choose to rent or buy your property. Other considerations include the cost of gas and transportation, taxes, child care, insurance, and utilities. Supply and demand are generally what drive up prices: the more people want to live in a certain place, the more expensive it will be.
What Makes New York and California So Expensive?
There's not just one reason why these two states are so expensive. Housing and taxes are generally two of the biggest factors that affect the cost of living in these areas. This spreads out to other areas of the economy, including child care, insurance, food and gas prices.
The Bottom Line
City living can be very expensive. According to the Council for Community and Economic Research, three boroughs in New York City and four cities in California made the top 10 list of most expensive cities during the first quarter of 2024. Median incomes are relatively lower compared to the cost of housing, food, gas, and taxes. The overall cost of living in these 10 cities is at least 44% higher than the national average. If you're hoping to move to a place that isn't nearly as costly, consider the three least expensive cities: Decatur, Illinois; Ponca City, Oklahoma; and Edinburg, Texas.