# America's Most Expensive States to Live In



## SeaBreeze (Jul 27, 2018)

The most expensive states to live in are New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland, Oregon, Alaska, New York, Massachusetts, California and Hawaii.  Full article about these states here.  



> There are some places in America where you can  expect to pay a premium on everything — from food to your fuel bill.  Out-of-control living expenses in some of these places may make it  difficult for you and your family to enjoy the best possible quality of  life.
> 
> Each year, as part of CNBC’s exclusive America’s Top States for Business study, we consider  Cost of Living as one of our key categories of competitiveness. That is  because companies seeking to recruit the best possible workforce know  that low costs can be a great way to attract talent.
> 
> ...


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## mathjak107 (Jul 28, 2018)

SeaBreeze said:


> The most expensive states to live in are New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland, Oregon, Alaska, New York, Massachusetts, California and Hawaii.  Full article about these states here.


States are huge and trying to look at costs by states is nothing more than click bait . There is a big difference between nyc and some rural towns up state


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## moviequeen1 (Jul 28, 2018)

My brother lives in Rye,NY which is in Westchester County
Every year when I visit him&family,I'm surprised by how much more expensive prices are then here in Buffalo.When I go into local grocery or drug store,look at tube of toothpaste as an example and see the price,I  say to myself'this is highway robbery,I'm not paying that' LOL! Sue


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## mathjak107 (Jul 28, 2018)

My son is in rye brook .it is right near there . Westchester is very expensive . His taxes are about 20k and day care 30k. But you get far more for your money house wise and there is no nyc income tax . He is an attorney in Manhattan.

the company I worked for has locations in Buffalo ,auburn and Syracuse . Pay is so much lower as well ,than Long Island for the same jobs


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## AprilT (Jul 28, 2018)

I grew up in Westchester, didn't seem any more expensive than most other places till I came of age and had to start paying my own bills.  :grin:  I've lived all around Westchester county, last was New Rochelle, 2005 or 06 I move away. First was Bedford Hills age 10.  Bedford Hills area,  I move there under the best of circumstances, but it was a great area to grow up, I have a lot of fond summer and winter memories of the area..


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## mathjak107 (Jul 28, 2018)

My son was living in Scarsdale in westchester. That is in the top 3 most expensive towns to live in ,in the country. He sold an 1800 sq ft home last month for a million. He got a 4000 sq ft home in rye brook for 1.1 million. That shows you how life from one town to another , not only within the same state but in different towns can vary.


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## Lara (Jul 28, 2018)

Alaska??? It's expensive to live in Alaska? Who wants to live in Alaska? 
Don't get me wrong, it's stunningly beautiful to observe in it's own dark (half the year) and frigid way :winter1:


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## AprilT (Jul 28, 2018)

mathjak107 said:


> My son was living in Scarsdale in westchester. That is in the top 3 most expensive towns to live in ,in the country. He sold an 1800 sq ft home last month for a million. He got a 4000 sq ft home in rye brook for 1.1 million. That shows you how life from one town to another , not only within the same state but in different towns can vary.



Scarsdale is definately one of the top towns in Westchester, but there are quite a few, There are quite a few prominent families who live in New Rochelle, The Clintons were looking at homes in the area, of course not in my immediate vicinity, I didn't have any money to live but in the central area, me too poor.  The Clitons finally settled on Chappaqua.    but per capita, Scarsdales was way up there.  

I had college friends who resided in Scarsdale and business associates.  Many of the people I knew from the area were modest about their money.


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## mathjak107 (Jul 28, 2018)

This is why articles like this are just click bait . They really are not informative at all. We have people living on just ss here and in nyc . Lifestyle and expenses are what you make of them .many live here golden girl style and they get by with just ss


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## AprilT (Jul 28, 2018)

mathjak107 said:


> This is why articles like this are just click bait . They really are not informative at all. We have people living on just ss here and in nyc . Lifestyle and expenses are what you make of them .many live here golden girl style and they get by with just ss



I think what they are speaking of are average expenses, many of the people living on SS, get subsidies, live in rent controlled housing and so on.  When you calculate the overall cost of living, it really does live up to what the articles are saying.  There are whole neighborhoods in Brooklyn that are subsidized and you wouldn't guess who the tenants are, these places get passed on from generation to generation.  

 I moved from several places where I was able to cut my expenses in half.  some 15 years ago when I left NY and moved to Florida, my rent expense dropped two thirds years later, I moved to an area in Florida, where after two years the cost of living blew up more than 30%. Over the six years I was in that particular area, namely Sarasota.  I went from paying about $700 to $1000 in rent in that six year period.  BTW, that still was less than what my rent was when I left NY some 15 years earlier.  

You can find moderately priced neighborhoods mixed in with exclusive areas in any state, but, the articles like these are just stating which ones are likely to cost you the most to live in and I can tell you unless you are a high earner don't bother moving to NY unless you want to live in a crummy neighborhood.   You will have to have roommates to afford most of the rents if you aren't making a very good income.  But then again, that depends on what one considers a crummy area too.


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## mathjak107 (Jul 28, 2018)

Personally I find all these what does it cost or how much do I need articals a waste of time and usually written by writers who are just interested in generating headlines that get clicks.


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## AprilT (Jul 28, 2018)

mathjak107 said:


> Personally I find all these what does it cost or how much do I need articals a waste of time and usually written by writers who are just interested in generating headlines that get clicks.




LOL!  Guess what, we clicked, if not on the link, on this thread to read what it was about.    I figured NY would be in there, I just wondered if Florida would be in there, but, I still haven't clicked on the link to find out, I'm too busy running my mouth responding to post in here.  :grin:


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## terry123 (Jul 29, 2018)

Lara said:


> Alaska??? It's expensive to live in Alaska? Who wants to live in Alaska?
> Don't get me wrong, it's stunningly beautiful to observe in it's own dark (half the year) and frigid way :winter1:


I could not live there either!!


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## hollydolly (Jul 29, 2018)

I know someone who moved from Florida, to Alaska.. been there decades, and loves it...

Just goes to show, it wouldn't  do for everyone to like the same things..


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## michael60 (Apr 26, 2019)

mathjak107 said:


> My son was living in Scarsdale in westchester. That is in the top 3 most expensive towns to live in ,in the country. He sold an 1800 sq ft home last month for a million. He got a 4000 sq ft home in rye brook for 1.1 million. That shows you how life from one town to another , not only within the same state but in different towns can vary.



Scarsdale is real expensive, my daughter once lived there.


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## michael60 (Apr 26, 2019)

beautiful but cold truly..


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## JFBev (Apr 26, 2019)

Oregon resident here -- high property taxes, regulations and fees galore.  No sales tax, though.  And there's the blue Pacific...


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## Don M. (Apr 26, 2019)

"Expensive States" are all 'relative'.  There are places, all over the nation, where expenses are ridiculous, and others, just a few miles away, that are quite reasonable.  It all depends upon what a person wants, and can afford.  Perhaps the primary expense that a person has little control over are the State/Local taxes.  People in some areas...say San Francisco...make good money, but pay a ridiculous sum for housing...so it probably all evens out.


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## Manatee (Apr 26, 2019)

I would not live in any of those states anyway.


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## AZ Jim (Apr 26, 2019)

I cannot afford to live in ANY state...


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## Manatee (May 3, 2019)

That list should include Washington state.


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## Sunny (May 4, 2019)

I think these "it's expensive to live" articles are mostly meaningless. For one thing, all the states mentioned as being expensive are considered excellent places to live. Salaries are higher, there are plenty of job opportunities, cultural and educational facilities are superior, etc. Aren't those generally considered more important to people making a choice of where to live than paying a few pennies more for their groceries? (Maybe; even the prices of groceries go up and down all the time.)

Within each state, there are huge variations. As someone pointed out, New York City shouldn't be lumped in with towns in rural parts of the state.  Even within the mostly affluent county where I live, there are big differences from one part to another. I've noticed big differences in the price of gas, for one thing. And that's for neighborhoods a few miles apart.

About Alaska, although I've never lived there, I get the impression that salaries are also much higher there than in most other parts of the U.S.  So isn't that what really counts?  The question is, what is the bottom line?  Of course, anyone who hates cold weather would probably not be happy living there; never mind the cost of living.


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## JustBonee (May 4, 2019)

Manatee said:


> That list should include Washington state.



Also Arizona.  It's a beautiful place to live but oh, so expensive.


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## Ruth n Jersey (May 4, 2019)

I live in New Jersey and we get taxed to death. We even have to pay to move out of the state. My whole family is from New Jersey. The first were farmers. I'm not leaving at this late date, even my final resting place is in this state. I'll probably have to pay a hefty amount just to be lowered into the ground. I'm not tipping the guy though.


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## mathjak107 (May 4, 2019)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> I live in New Jersey and we get taxed to death. We even have to pay to move out of the state. My whole family is from New Jersey. The first were farmers. I'm not leaving at this late date, even my final resting place is in this state. I'll probably have to pay a hefty amount just to be lowered into the ground. I'm not tipping the guy though.


Let’s not forget New Jersey has both an inheritance tax and an estate tax ...our kids live in Jersey ... I hate the drive .....I know why you only pay tolls to leave New Jersey ...it is worth it


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## Lethe200 (May 6, 2019)

I agree, those kinds of articles are just 'clickbait'. True, but also a lot of generalization which can render its definitions of "expensive" meaningless. We live coastal Northern CA and have no financial issues to speak of, in our retirement.

Our home is paid off except for a small second. Our utilities are low because we purchased a roof solar system that has almost eliminated our electric bill (still have the natural gas bill, tho). Maintenance, repairs and remodeling can be expensive as we are a high-cost labor state.

Our property taxes are capped by Proposition 13 which only allows a 2% max increase per year and is based on the last sales price, which in our case was 1989 and $180K. The county raises it annually when possible - in RE recession times we were approved for a tax CUT - but it is still only appraised at maybe 60% of market value.

California is expensive if you are renting in an urban area, or if you currently want to buy a home near the coast - which of course, everybody does. But if you are mostly debt-free in retirement and a homeowner, then it's a great place to live. There's no dearth of opportunities to spend your discretionary income, that's for sure!

Some Boomers move away to save money. Some sell because they are house-rich/cash-poor, so they need to free up the equity for their old age healthcare. Some sell because they want/need to be closer to family. One of our old neighbors did so, but comes back as often as she can - she really doesn't like living in AZ.

It's hardest for the Gen X and Y, who are marrying and starting families. Developers build a lot of condos but not many SFH: in coastal CA there are no inexpensive large acreages on which to throw up the usual cookie-cutter tract homes. So SFHs are built much further out, which adds to transit issues as there is little public trans built out to those locations, so people have to drive at least part of the way. 

Distance is a big problem in CA. As with TX and AK, unless you live here it's hard to imagine the scope of it. We don't talk about how many miles from 'here' a place is - we frame it in "how long does it take to get there?" 

You can buy a nice tract house for $350K, but you could be driving three hours *one way *just to reach the office!

Our home is 10 mins from where DH worked. Even when I worked in SF it only took 1/2 hr on public trans, and that included driving to the station. But that's why our little home is now in the $750-800K range - whatever was built before, will probably remain in place as-is. In many neighborhoods and cities, you can't build huge condo buildings to replace SFHs; the zoning wouldn't allow it. Usually the most that can be done is to upgrade a SFH into a legal duplex, but that's costly (another neighbor just did it for her daughter, and it cost them close to $250K). 

Even if the land costs were affordable, this is *Earthquake Country.* High-density can be extremely dangerous. Thus....RE prices are high, which drives most other costs higher as well. 

Hence, we _look _very expensive, and for certain costs - food, gas, etc. - it is. But if your fixed costs are manageable, the higher salaries out here make it easier to enjoy life.


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## Pete (Jul 10, 2019)

Lara said:


> Who wants to live in Alaska?


I do and this summer here in Texas makes me want to return home even more. I know this year it is also warm/hot in Alaska but during the 20 years I lived up there 70 was considered a heat wave. If I had my health no question I would be living back in my cabin pictured here.


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## Lara (Jul 10, 2019)

Wow, @Pete, that's beautiful. My son loves Alaska when he's here on the mainland but when he goes back he complains and comes back here. My comment was based mostly on that as I've never been to Alaska myself. Thank you for sharing your perspective. I totally respect that. 

Be careful there in TX. Are you going to be safe from the approaching hurricane? Evacuate when they say to. Keep us posted.


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## terry123 (Jul 10, 2019)

Sounds like heaven to me. If my health was better I would consider moving there too!  Last report I heard was that the storm will probably hit La. but we are prepared to leave if necessary. Daughter keeps car gassed up, she got some cash and filled the scripts we would need if we have to leave.  We have had to leave before so we know what to do. She is expecting a rush today at the pharmacy as folks try to get their scripts filled in a hurry if they have to leave.  If the storm heads here we will go to my sisters in La.


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## DaveA (Jul 11, 2019)

I can't speak for the individual states but many of those on the list of "high priced' also have some of the top educational systems and the opportunity for residents to attend them.  Their health care systems, it's availability, and care for the disabled are also apt to be far above many other states.

Putting aside money that's stolen by state and local government (which probably averages out in all of our states), you get what you pay for.

Also many of these states provide help for the needy, which means little to those of us who are more fortunate but some of us do feel a "duty" to help those in a lower status.  And before the "hard workers"  start to bluster, there are many of the low income folks who work as hard if not harder than some of the humble braggers that we always manage to hear from.

I consider myself fortunate to not be among those depending on aid, but all of my luck is not self-made.  There have been helping hands along the way when I've stumbled.  Family, friends, fellow workers.  Just because I've never needed a financial hand-out doesn't make me some sort of a superior being.  Just someone who was in the right place at the right time and took advantage of it.


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