About State Cost Compare

Why this site exists

State Cost Compare gives a relocation decision two useful starting points: dated government evidence and a place to record the household’s own numbers. Its interactive board covers every state and the District of Columbia. The focused pair articles preserve a smaller set of common comparisons, while individual jurisdiction guides explain what to investigate locally. A visitor can change either selection without generating another crawlable page for every possible pair.

The figures we publish

The Bureau of Economic Analysis supplies regional price parities for all consumption items and rental housing. Census American Community Survey tables supply occupied home values, two-bedroom gross rent, household income and real estate taxes paid. Each series has its own unit, population and observation period. The site preserves those distinctions instead of combining unrelated medians into a single affordability score. Published Census margins accompany their estimates; BEA indices have a different measurement framework.

The people behind the pages

The State Cost Compare Editorial Team maintains the data, explanations and calculation code. The independent publisher also operates other calculator references. This site uses its own data definitions, editorial decisions and corrections channel. This is an independent publishing site, with no affiliation to BEA, the Census Bureau or a state government. Agency citations identify evidence, rather than endorsements. We do not claim professional licensure, government approval, external certifications or a personal research credential that has not been established.

A decision still needs your records

An offered salary, a specific lease, financing terms, insurance, transport and care arrangements can change the result of a move. The prepared budget worksheet requires entered monthly costs and annual income after approved taxes. It leaves omitted amounts unresolved. The separate price-level scenario is useful for screening a hypothesis, but cannot replace those quotes or predict your compensation. Our methodology explains the arithmetic and its limits.

Maintaining the comparison

Reported discrepancies are checked against the original agency file and its geography. Confirmed changes to data or arithmetic require revised calculations and browser verification before release. Use the contact form to identify a figure, definition, source link or interaction that needs attention. Keep personal records out of the message; the team needs the public evidence and the calculation example, rather than your identity or employer’s documents.