San Francisco misses the top spot among 15 most expensive U.S. cities to reside in

Manhattan, the most populous and heart of New York City, is also the most expensive place to live in the U.S. by a huge margin.

The cost of living in Manhattan is more than twice as high as the national average, according to an emerging data from The Council for Community and Economic Research’s Cost of Living Index, which compares the prices of everyday goods and services in 271 urban areas.

The data shows that living in Manhattan costs 122% more than the average U.S. city, based on a composite index score that takes into account six categories: housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods or services.

A score of 100 signifies the national average, and any score exceeding 100 indicates a cost of living above the average.

Manhattan is not only expensive, but also significantly more costly than other urban areas that rank high in the index.

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For example, living in Manhattan is 24% more expensive than living in Honolulu, the second-most expensive city in the U.S., and 31% more expensive than living in San Francisco, the third-most expensive city, according to C2ER’s data.

Take a glimpse into the 15 urban areas with the highest cost of living, determined by composite index scores:

1. New York (Manhattan): 222
2. Honolulu: 179
3. San Francisco: 169.9
4. New York (Brooklyn): 159.1
5. Orange County, California: 150.3
6. Los Angeles (Long Beach): 149.1
7. Washington, D.C.: 148.7
8. Boston: 148.4
9. Seattle: 144.5
10. San Diego: 142.5
11. Arlington, Virginia: 140.1
12. Oakland, California: 140
13. New York (Queens): 136.3
14. Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, Maryland.: 135.8
15. Nassau County, New York: 135.2

One of the main reasons why Manhattan is so costly to live in is the high price of housing, which is almost five times the national average. Other cities with notoriously expensive housing, such as Honolulu and San Francisco, have housing costs that are about three times the national average.

Manhattan’s housing market is driven by two factors: the abundance of wealth and the scarcity of land.

New York City has the most millionaires and billionaires in the world, with many of them living in Manhattan and buying lavish homes. This inflates the average housing costs in the borough.

People are willing to pay a premium price to live in Manhattan.

Beyond housing, Manhattan additionally boasts the highest miscellaneous living expenses, encompassing items such as entertainment, alcohol, and clothing.

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Other boroughs of New York City, such as Brooklyn and Queens, are also among the most expensive places to live in the U.S., with living costs that are 59% and 36% higher than the national average, respectively.

The cheapest city to live in is Harlingen, Texas, where living costs are about 25% lower than the national average. The city benefits from low taxes, cheap housing, and cheap gas, but it also suffers from a high poverty rate.

Data for the Cost of Living Index was gathered between January 1 and March 31, 2023.

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