10 Most Expensive U.S. Cities to Live In
The most expensive U.S. cities are usually expensive for a reason. Residents pay higher living costs in exchange for favorable geography, climate, culture or economic prosperity -- or all of the above. Of course, that doesn't make the most expensive cities the "best" cities to live in, at least not for everyone, says Jennie Allison of the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness, a nonprofit research and policy group.
"We all consider how much it costs to live in a particular city, with housing being one of the biggest determinants of that," Allison says. "However, a person or business needs to think about what local amenities are important to them too, whether it be local public transportation systems, walkability, access to natural amenities, and so forth."
To determine just how much the most expensive U.S. cities cost, we turned to the latest data from the Council for Community and Economic Research. Its Cost of Living Index measures prices in 269 urban areas for housing,
