Most Expensive County to Live in Every State

The U.S. economy underwent a period of historic inflation in the last five years. While the pace of rising consumer prices has slowed in recent months, Americans across the country are still living with the cumulative effects of pandemic-era inflation. Indeed, the overall cost of living in the United States is now 23.6% higher than […] The post Most Expensive County to Live in Every State appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Jun 2, 2025 - 16:10

Most Expensive County to Live in Every State

The U.S. economy underwent a period of historic inflation in the last five years. While the pace of rising consumer prices has slowed in recent months, Americans across the country are still living with the cumulative effects of pandemic-era inflation. Indeed, the overall cost of living in the United States is now 23.6% higher than it was in February 2020, the month preceding the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key Points

Historic inflation in the COVID-19 era has driven the cost of living in the United States up by well over 20% in the last half decade.
While rising prices have a direct impact on every American, consumer prices can also vary considerably at the local level — and in every state, there is at least one county where consumers are paying far more than those in other parts of the state for the same goods and services.
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While no corner of the U.S. has been spared the harm inflicted by surging consumer prices, the overall cost of living can still vary greatly from one community to another. In a coastal area, for example, a home may cost hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the same home would in a different community — just as a typical grocery bill may be considerably lower in upstate New York than in midtown Manhattan.

These price variations are driven, to a large extent, by the laws of supply and demand. The supply of beachfront homes, or those in a top-rated school district, is often more limited than homes in other areas. When these supply constraints coincide with higher demand due to desirable attributes, prices increase.

Across the 50 states, consumer prices range anywhere from about 13.5% less expensive than the national average, to 12.6% more expensive, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. But variations in living costs can be even more pronounced at the local level.

Using data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, 24/7 Wall St. identified the most expensive county, or county equivalent, in each state. The counties on this list were selected using the latest available data on regional price parity, or RPP, a cost of living index. For additional context, we also included state-level RPP estimates from the BEA. Supplemental data on median household income and median home value are from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey. State-level ACS data are 1-year estimates, and county-level ACS data are 5-year averages. Due to a reclassification of counties to Planning Regions, local ACS data were not available in the state of Connecticut.

In 34 of the 50 states, the overall cost of living is lower than the national average. At the local level, however, all but 17 states are home to at least one county or county equivalent where the cost of living exceeds the national average.

Even though every county on this list ranks as the most expensive place to live in a given state, variations in the overall cost of living among these places are often great. Mississippi, for example, is one of the least expensive states to live in, and even in Lamar County — Mississippi’s most expensive — consumer prices are still 8.2% lower than they are on average nationwide. By contrast, in San Mateo County, California, the most expensive county in the most expensive state, the cost of living is 27.7% higher than the national average. (Here is a look at the most expensive states to live in.)

Given the relationship between supply and demand laws and overall cost of living, it is perhaps not surprising that, in nearly every county on this list, median household incomes exceed the statewide median — often by tens of thousands of dollars. Relatively high consumer prices in these places are also evidenced, in part, by home values. With only a small handful of exceptions, median home prices are higher in these counties than they are across the state as a whole. (Here is a look at the states where home prices are still going up.)

This is the most expensive county in every state.

Why It Matters

For years, the rapidly rising prices have been straining household budgets for millions of Americans. But while no corner of the country was spared from the effects of inflation, there are specific places where long-standing, deeply entrenched supply and demand dynamics have pushed the cost of living well above what most Americans are accustomed to. In most states, there is at least one county or county equivalent where consumer prices are higher than they are nationwide, on average.