Changes in the cost of living for families in every state in 2024

Although prices have continued to increase this year, the pace at which they are rising has slowed. While there are general trends in prices that can be seen nationally, there are regional differences in the cost of living. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not calculate the Consumer Price Index for each state, but they do track prices in regions:

Though we will not be able to see exactly how prices have changed in each state, we will be able to see how they shifted regionally.

Four broad commodity categories—groceries, shelter, and fuel and utilities—are used to examine changes in the cost of living.

When looking at all goods and services, the Midwest (+2.64 percent) has seen prices rise by the highest factor, with states in the West North Central seeing prices increase 2.75 percent.

In addition to seeing prices rise at different rates, these regions also began the year with prices in different places, with some areas having a higher cost of living than others. Though the Midwest has seen prices increase nearly three percent, the states in this region started the year with the lowest prices, and still, even with prices growing as they have, consumers still see the lowest average prices as of July.

How much have grocery prices increased in the US?

Moving on to groceries. Though this category fueled inflation in 2022 and parts of 2023, price increases have stayed under 1.5 percent in all regions, with prices falling since January in two:

In the Midwest, states in the West North Central region have seen prices rise 1.17 percent, while consumers in the East North Central region have seen prices rise only 0.28 percent.

Food prices are the highest in the West, with states in the Mountain region paying the highest average prices for groceries in the country, followed closely by residents of the Pacific states.

How much has the price of housing changed this year?

Shelter is one of the commodities that has seen the largest price increases of the goods and services being examined. Renters have not been spared as home prices have hit new highs, pricing many potential buyers out of the market.

As of April, the median sale price of homes across the four regions were as follows:

Comparing the prices to those captured in April 2023, all regions have seen a downward trend. However, with many still paying higher prices than their previous mortgage, the cost of shelter has continued to increase in all nine regions this year.

How have prices for fuel and utilities changed over since January?

There are some major differences in how fuel and utility prices have shifted across the regions since January. In the Northeast, average prices have moved up 1.17 percent; however, in New England, they have fallen 2.89 percent, and in the Middle Atlantic, they have shot up 3.03 percent.

Four regions have seen prices fall, with five seeing them increase since the beginning of the year.

Though prices in the Moutain states have fallen by the greatest percentage, prices there remain the highest in the country.