Cost of Living
PRESS RELEASE
ACCRA COST OF LIVING INDEX
Among the 308 urban areas that participated in the first quarter 2010 ACCRA 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 almost 16 percent below the national average in Pryor Creek, OK. The ACCRA 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 ACCRA Cost of Living Index (COLI)
First Quarter 2010
National Average for 308 Urban Areas = 100 |
Most Expensive |
|
Least Expensive |
|
|
|
COL |
|
|
COL |
Ranking |
Urban Areas |
Index |
Ranking |
Urban Areas |
Index |
1 |
New York (Manhattan) NY |
218.0 |
1 |
Pryor Creek OK |
84.3 |
2 |
New York (Brooklyn) NY |
182.8 |
2 |
Cookeville TN |
84.8 |
3 |
Honolulu HI |
163.0 |
3 |
Fort Smith AR |
85.2 |
4 |
San Francisco CA |
162.1 |
4 |
Pueblo CO |
85.9 |
5 |
New York (Queens) NY |
159.5 |
5 |
Douglas GA |
86.0 |
6 |
Truckee-Nevada County CA |
148.6 |
6 |
Harlingen TX |
86.1 |
7 |
Nassau County NY |
147.2 |
7 |
Muskogee OK |
86.4 |
8 |
Orange County CA |
146.5 |
8 |
McAllen TX |
86.5 |
9 |
Stamford CT |
145.9 |
9 |
Johnson City TN |
86.6 |
10 |
Fairbanks AK |
139.9 |
10 |
Conway AR |
86.8 |
The ACCRA 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. It is based on more than 90,000 prices covering 60 different items for which 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.
Sugar Prices
Each quarter, C2ER collects more than 90,000 prices from communities across the US for the Cost of Living Index. According to media sources, the price of sugar is at its highest price since the end of World War II. Production facilities abroad have driven prices up. Consequently, C2ER is featuring communities with the most and least expensive 5 pound packages of sugar. Across the country, prices for sugar have risen dramatically.
The Five Most and Least Expensive Places for a 5-Pound Bag of Sugar by Average Price
First Quarter 2010
Average for 308 Urban Areas = $2.20 |
Most Expensive Sugar |
|
Least Expensive Sugar |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ranking |
Urban Areas |
Avg. Price |
Ranking |
Urban Areas |
Avg. Price |
1 |
Kodiak AK |
3.52 |
1 |
Seguin TX |
1.45 |
2 |
New York (Manhattan) NY |
3.35 |
2 |
Fort Worth TX |
1.67 |
3 |
New York (Brooklyn) NY |
3.28 |
3 |
Richmond VA |
1.74 |
4 |
Honolulu HI |
3.05 |
4 |
Richmond IN |
1.77 |
5 |
Fairbanks AK |
2.97 |
5 |
Dallas TX |
1.77 |
As long as we’re discussing sugar, it only seems appropriate to bring up the price of toothpaste.
The Five Most and Least Expensive Places for Toothpaste by Average Price
First Quarter 2010
National Average for 308 Urban Areas = $2.56 |
Most Expensive |
|
Least Expensive |
|
Ranking |
Urban Areas |
Avg. Price |
Ranking |
Urban Areas |
Avg. Price |
1 |
New York (Manhattan) NY |
4.69 |
1 |
Cookeville TN |
1.65 |
2 |
New York (Queens) NY |
4.49 |
2 |
Indiana County PA |
1.72 |
3 |
Augusta-Aiken GA-SC |
3.86 |
3 |
Fort Lauderdale FL |
1.78 |
4 |
Truckee-Nevada County CA |
3.84 |
4 |
McAllen TX |
1.79 |
5 |
Kodiak AK |
3.73 |
5 |
Corpus Christi TX |
1.82 |
The quarterly ACCRA Cost of Living Index is available by subscription for $165 per year for the print version and $150 per year for the PDF. The electronic version is available for $250 per year. Send check, payable to C2ER, P.O. Box 100127, Arlington VA 22210-0407, or subscribe on the Internet at www.coli.org.
If you need additional information on the ACCRA Cost of Living Index or other COLI-related products such as the COLI Web Calculator and the COLI Historical Index, please contact Dean Frutiger at dfrutiger@c2er.org or Erol Yildirim at ey@c2er.org or by phone at 703-522-4980.
C2ER THE COUNCIL FOR COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH - From the ACCRA Cost of Living Index (COLI)
First Quarter 2010
National Average for 308 Urban Areas = 100
(Comparing the Houston, Texas and its lower cost-of-living rating to the 1 – 10th Ranked Most Expensive Urban Areas)
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