Hawaii most expensive state to live, Mississippi cheapest

[eric82oslo]

Washington Post's The Fix has a new map out showing which states are the cheapest and which are the most expensive to live in. See the map here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/08/18/map-how-much-100-is-really-worth-in-every-state/

The five most expensive states are:

(D.C.: $84.60)
1. Hawaii- $85.32
2. New York - $86.66
3. New Jersey - $87.64
4. California - $88.57
5. Maryland - $89.85

The five cheapest states are:

1. Mississippi - $115.74
2. Arkansas - $114.16
3. Alabama & Missouri - $113.51
5. South Dakota - $113.38

Texas stands at $103.63, Florida at $101.21. Both below the national average. Only 15 states were more expensive than the national average.

[Illuminati Blood Drinker]

Screw you Mississippi, I'm still not giving you my money.

[Blue3]

The cheapest places also have some of the highest unemployment (Mississippi is #1 in unemployment right now), and the more expensive places have some of the lowest unemployment (Hawaii has around 3% or 4% right now).

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Hawaii has a significant homelessness problem and I'm guessing this has something to do with it.

[Vega]

As someone who lived in Hawaii for 31 years, it is super expensive. Almost $5 for a Half-Gallon of milk. Gas (and everything else) is also costly because of the importing required.

As to the homeless problem, I'm amazed that it's not a bigger issue in elections. It's a serious problem.

[memphis]

Mississippi has a ton of cheap real estate because there has been a massive population exodus both out of agricultural districts that no longer need field hands and out of ghetto neighborhoods in towns that are now extremely undesirable. Other than that, things are about the same. The price of groceries and cars and washing machines are pretty similar anywhere in the continental US. In contrast, Hawaii is expensive for everything. Not just real estate. It shouldn't surprise anybody that living on a Polynesian island thousands of miles from anywhere is expensive.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

New York and California are such big states, that if they were split randomly into Hawaii sized states, you'd be certain to get multiple new states with a higher cost of living. Honolulu is probably dirt cheap compared to San Francisco.

[greenforest32]

They published the metro-area version of the map today: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/08/20/map-how-much-100-is-really-worth-in-hundreds-of-metropolitan-areas/