Cost of Living Index
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COST OF LIVING INDEX
Among the 248 urban areas that participated in the second quarter of the 2026 Cost of Living Index, the after-tax cost for a professional/managerial standard of living ranged from more than twice the national average in New York (Manhattan), NY to more than 20 percent below the national average in Ponca City, OK. The Cost of Living Index is published quarterly by C2ER – The Council for Community and Economic Research.
The Ten Most and Least Expensive Urban Areas
in the Cost of Living Index (COLI)
Review of Quarter Two in 2026
National Average for 248 Urban Areas = 100
The Cost of Living Index measures regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures, for professional and managerial households in the top income quintile. Covering 61 different items, prices are collected quarterly by chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, and university applied economic centers in each participating urban area. Small differences should not be interpreted as showing a measurable difference.
The composite index is based on six component categories – housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services.
What Do Groceries Cost?
The C2ER grocery index is drawing data from over 320 million grocery prices derived from 1.5 trillion historical data points collected across the country to generate the most accurate data possible. Datasembly’s weekly collection covers 200 national and regional retailers and quick service restaurants representing over 150,000 brick and mortar locations across 30,000 zip codes. With food prices still being a big part of the national conversation, C2ER decided to feature those communities once again with the most and least expensive food costs as measured by the grocery item index number. The twenty-six items priced come from a variety of surrogate categories to represent the grocery item component of the index.
The Five Most and Least Expensive Places for Grocery Items by Index Number
in the Cost of Living Index (COLI)
Review of Quarter Two in 2026
Average for 248 Urban Areas = 100
The Most Expensive and Least Expensive Utility Bills
According to a recent report from the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC), “Fewer than three in ten consumers strongly agree they know what actually drives their bill.” With utility bills rapidly rising as a major concern amongst American households, it can be prudent to stay informed around the broader landscape of household utility bills. Using data from the most recent COLI Quarterly Index report, we can see that the average household utility bill in April 2026 was $231.74, but were as high as $638.24 in Honolulu, HI and as low as $132.60 in New Orleans, LA. The COLI Quarterly Index captures a combined energy bill of electricity, natural gas, and for certain areas, heating fuel, though some urban areas solely rely on electricity, such as is the case with Honolulu, HI and San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, PR. The majority of areas use a combination of electricity and natural gas or heating fuel to power their utilities, such as New Orleans, LA, Las Cruces, NM, and Bakersfield, CA, where electricity tends to be the larger portion of the bill. For these areas, the monthly electricity bill alone is around $135.45 on average, with the other monthly energy bill averaging around $95.87.
The Five Most and Least Expensive Monthly Utility Bills
Review of Quarter Two in 2026
Average for 248 Urban Areas = $231.74
The quarterly Cost of Living Index is available by subscription for $200 per year for the print version and $315 per year for the electronic version. Be sure and ask about our Expanded Excel version which covers more household and income types. Send check, payable to C2ER, P.O. Box 12546, Arlington VA 22209, or subscribe on the Internet at www.coli.org.
If you need additional information on the COLI Quarterly Index or other COLI-related products such as the COLI Web Calculator and the COLI Historical Index, please contact us at info@coli.org or by phone at 703-522-4982.
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