Hawaii has the highest cost of living in the U.S.: The state has ‘really high home prices' and expensive goods, expert says

The most expensive state in the U.S. isn't New York or California.

Realtor.com published its list of the states with the highest cost of living based on data from Stacker and Hawaii took the No. 1 spot.

"The states at the top of the list aren't necessarily super surprising. We know that places like California, Washington D.C., and Massachusetts are very expensive because the major expensive cities they all have," Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, tells CNBC Make It.

To create the ranking, Stacker, a data-driven platform, used a survey from The Council for Community and Economic Research to measure the cost of living in each state during the second quarter of 2024. The cost of living was calculated using the average price of goods and services in that state's metro areas and cities.

The report found that the most expensive states in America are predominately on the West and Northeast coasts.

Jones said Hawaii's ranking was a little surprising because people don't typically think of Hawaii in terms of expenses compared to the continental U.S.

"Hawaii has really high home prices and is very remote, which means that it is very expensive to get goods and services in, and that adds additional costs to living there," Jones says.

"The cost of bringing in necessary goods is passed on to the consumers, so the increased cost of transportation makes it more expensive," she adds.

The top 10 U.S. states with the highest cost of living

1. Hawaii
2. California
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Massachusetts
5. New York
6. Alaska
7. Washington
8. New Jersey
9. Maryland
10. Vermont

California is the No. 2 state with the highest cost of living in the U.S.

"The general demand to be in California met with not quite enough home supply means that purchasing a home or renting in California is extremely expensive," Jones says.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development estimates the state has added about 80,000 housing units per year over the past ten years, when it should have been building 180,000. 

California has major economic hubs like San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, where home prices can be in the millions.

According to CNBC, energy prices are high in California, with gas prices typically being the highest in the nation. This is mainly due to taxes and environmental mandates.

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