Shoppers load up their vehicle outside a HomeGoods store in South Bend, Indiana, on Monday, Nov. 16, 2020.
- Rising prices for everything from meat to used cars are giving our wallets a kind of workout they haven't seen in years.
- The specter of inflation has many companies looking for locations where their workers — and their customers — have more spending power.
- CNBC's annual America's Top States for Business study scores states based on an index of prices for basic items.
An engine as massive as the U.S. economy is not going to restart without some sputtering, which is what many economists believe explains the double-digit price increases in many goods and services as the nation moves past the pandemic. Global supply chains were so badly disrupted that it's taking some doing to get everything back in gear.
Disruptions — and price increases — have been more severe in some states than others. That's why CNBC's annual America's Top States for Business study considers Cost of Living among our ten categories of competitiveness. Some states feature costs so high that many people may prefer to stay away.
These ten states are where a dollar went the furthest last year, and where prices have been heading in the volatile first half of this year versus one year ago, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also listed are average prices for selected items, based on the 2020 Average Cost of Living Index by the Council for Community and Economic Research, C2ER.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
10. Indiana
Driving through the Crossroads of America can be a breeze, with Indiana gas prices running about 30% less in Bloomington than what they are paying in San Francisco. Then head home to your apartment, where you pay roughly half the rent you would pay in Chicago.
Money Report
2021 Cost of Living score: 62 out of 75 points (Top States Grade: A-)
Consumer Price Index (June, Midwest Region): Up 5.8%
Average home price (Bloomington): $339,513
Half gallon of milk: $1.39
Monthly energy bill: $147.72
8. (tie) Tennessee
Looking to get your hair done before you head into the office after a year of working at home? In Johnson City, Tennessee, it will cost you roughly half what it would cost if you lived in Houston. A Tennessee visit to the doctor is more than 60% less than it would be in Madison, Wisconsin.
2021 Cost of Living score: 65 out of 75 points (Top States Grade: A-)
Consumer Price Index (June, South Region): Up 5.8%
Average home price (Johnson City): $395,467
Half gallon of milk: $1.92
Monthly energy bill: $141.46
8. (tie) Georgia
Yes, you can get more peaches for your money in Georgia, where a 15-ounce can will cost roughly 30% less than it would in New York. And for your main course, a New York steak is also cheaper in Atlanta than it is in New York — by almost a dollar, based on 2020 averages.
2021 Cost of Living score: 65 out of 75 points (Top States Grade: A-)
Consumer Price Index (June, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell): Up 6.7%
Average home price (Metro Atlanta): $380,418
Half gallon of milk: $1.99
Monthly energy bill: $120.82
7. New Mexico
You can rent an apartment in Albuquerque for about one-third of what you would pay in Bethesda, Maryland. And your heating and air conditioning bill will be about 20% less in New Mexico.
2021 Cost of Living score: 66 out of 75 points (Top States Grade: A)
Consumer Price Index: (June, West Region): Up 5.1%
Average home price (Albuquerque): $329,645
Half gallon of milk: $2.10
Monthly energy bill: $155.29
6. Alabama
If your idea of a Sweet Home is roughly 2,400 square feet, 4 bedrooms and 2 baths on a decent sized lot in Auburn, Alabama, expect to pay roughly one-third of what you would pay for a similar home in Orange County, California. Celebrate your smart purchase in Alabama with a bottle of wine, which will set you back about 25% less than it would in Atlanta.
2021 Cost of Living score: 68 out of 75 points (Top States Grade: A)
Consumer Price Index (June, South Region): Up 5.8%
Average home price (Auburn): $309,875
Half gallon of milk: $1.80
Monthly energy bill: $179.77
5. Missouri
See a movie in Kansas City and it will cost about 30% less than it would in Hollywood. And if you wanted to buy a nice men's shirt in Missouri for your first visit to a theater since before the pandemic, it would cost about 25% less than the same shirt in Boston.
2021 Cost of Living score: 69 out of 75 points (Top States Grade: A)
Consumer Price Index (June, St. Louis Metro): Up 6.1%
Average home price (Kansas City Metro): $299,164
Half gallon of milk: $1.87
Monthly energy bill: $157.13
4. Arkansas
In his first year as President in 1993, former Arkansas governor Bill Clinton caught endless grief over a report — which turned out to be exaggerated — that he paid $200 for a haircut by his personal stylist aboard Air Force One. Nearly 30 years later, he could get still a haircut in Little Rock for about $20, which is also about 20% cheaper than in his current home in Westchester County, New York.
2021 Cost of Living score: 71 out of 75 points (Top States Grade: A+)
Consumer Price Index (June, South Region): Up 5.8%
Average home price (Little Rock): $371,333
Half gallon of milk: $1.78
Monthly energy bill: $143.00
3. Oklahoma
The wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet in Oklahoma, and it makes a very affordable loaf of bread — nearly 30% less than it would cost in Portland, Oregon. Your monthly energy bill in Norman is about half what you would pay in New Haven, Connecticut. Ponca City boasted the lowest apartment rents in the country in 2020, at just $502 for a two-bedroom unit.
2021 Cost of Living score: 72 out of 75 points (Top States Grade: A+)
Consumer Price Index (June, South Region): Up 5.8%
Average home price (Norman): $316,455
Half gallon of milk: $2.14
Monthly energy bill: $152.87
2. Kansas
If Dorothy Gale were alive today — and her little dog, too — taking Toto to the veterinarian in Dodge City would cost half what it would cost in New York City. If she went to a restaurant in New York and ordered a steak, she would find the price 20% higher than at home, and she would know right away that she's not in Kansas anymore.
2021 Cost of Living score: 74 out of 75 points (Top States Grade: A+)
Consumer Price Index (June, Midwest Region): Up 5.8%
Average home price (Dodge City): $299,018
Half gallon of milk: $2.48
Monthly energy bill: $159.30
1. Mississippi
Got a hankerin' for a hamburger? It will cost you 25% less in Hattiesburg than it would in Honolulu. How about that? But the bargains go beyond burgers in the Magnolia State, which offers low housing costs, inexpensive energy, and all-around affordable prices. Even with inflation, your dollar will go further in Mississippi, America's cheapest state for 2021.
2021 Cost of Living score: 75 out of 75 points (Top States Grade: A+)
Consumer Price Index (June, South Region): Up 5.8%
Average home price (Hattiesburg): $247,812
Half gallon of milk: $2.37
Monthly energy bill: $153.76
