Cost of Living

BEA RPP for 2024: lowest = Mississippi 86.1, Arkansas 88.0, Alabama 87.9; highest = Hawaii 119.3, DC 117.7, California 113.7, New York 113.8, New Jersey 113.5, Massachusetts 110.7. Housing is the dominant component (~30-35% of household budgets). Other major factors: food (~12%), transportation (~15%), healthcare (~8%). When comparing salary offers across cities, divide the salary by the destination's COL index — a $100K offer in San Francisco (COL 130) provides equivalent buying power to ~$77K in Atlanta (COL 95).