Five U.S. Cities Where The Cost Of Living Is Rising Fastest

A new study from GOBankingRates identifies the cities across America that have seen the largest increase in cost of living expenses from 2016 to 2017.

When deciding where to locate your company’s new operations, cost of living (CoL) concerns for your employees is often a consideration. With that in mind, you might be interested in a new study from personal finance news and features website GOBankingRates. The 10 U.S. Cities Where the Cost of Living is Rising Fastest study identifies the cities across America that have seen the largest increase in CoL expenses from 2016 to 2017.   

cost of living
(Credit: Creatas)

The study evaluated U.S. cities based on two principal metrics:

  • The increase in a city’s CoL index, which includes food, rent, utilities and transportation.
  • The increase in the amount of income required to “live comfortably,” a concept used in GOBankingRates studies that combines the money needed to pay for necessities — including food, rent, utilities, transportation and healthcare — with the amount one should budget toward discretionary spending and savings.

GOBankingRates identified the cities where the CoL index had increased by at least two points (out of a total 100) and the amount of income required to live comfortably had also risen. Combining these two metrics provides both the objective and more subjective side of these expenses. Most cost of living indices do not account for the ability to save or pay for unnecessary purchases, although they’re important parts of people’s financial lives.

Top 5 Cities Where Cost of Living Is Rising Quickly

1. Nashville, TN
Live Comfortably Amount Increase: $9,135
CoL Index Increase: 8.61 points

2. Seattle, WA
Live Comfortably Amount Increase: $3,190
CoL Index Increase: 7.32 points

3. Louisville, KY
Live Comfortably Amount Increase: $2,066
CoL Index Increase: 4.49 points

4. Austin, TX
Live Comfortably Amount Increase: $1,407
CoL Index Increase: 3.84 points

5. Jacksonville, FL
Live Comfortably Amount Increase: $2,095
CoL Index Increase: 3.36 points

Additional Study Insights

  • Home prices have been surging in Nashville. From April 2015 to April 2017, the median list price for a home rose by almost 30 percent, from under $260,000 to nearly $340,000.
  • According to new income limits set by HUD, an individual earning $50,500 a year in Los Angeles County (#6 on the list) is now considered low-income.
  • The CoL has actually gone down in New York, San Francisco, and Honolulu — cities with notoriously high expenses.

To learn more, view the 10 U.S. Cities Where the Cost of Living Is Rising Fastest study online.