Explore U.S. counties. Discover where your income goes further based on local housing, goods, and services costs.
The Purchasing Power Index is a unique metric that goes beyond a simple cost of living calculation. While traditional indices only show you how expensive a place is, our index tells you how far your money actually goes. It is calculated by taking the median household income in a county and dividing it by the overall Regional Price Parity (RPP).
A score above 100 means that residents in that county have a higher real purchasing power than the national average. In other words, their income is more than enough to cover the local cost of goods, services, and housing. Conversely, a score below 100 indicates that the local cost of living consumes a larger portion of the median income, leaving less disposable income for savings or leisure.
Where your dollar goes the furthest relative to local income.
Where the cost of living heavily outpaces local median incomes.
Understanding the overall cost of living is only half the battle. The Cost Structure Breakdown provided on our county detail pages reveals why a region is expensive or affordable. We break down the BEA RPP into four distinct categories: Overall, Goods, Services, and Housing (Rents).
For example, a tech hub like Santa Clara County, California, has an extremely high overall cost of living. However, our breakdown shows that this is primarily driven by a massive spike in Housing (Rents), while Goods (like groceries and clothing) might be closer to the national average. In contrast, some rural counties might have affordable housing but suffer from high Service costs (like healthcare or auto repair) due to a lack of competition. This structural analysis empowers you to align your lifestyle with the local economy.