Midwest Safety News

Inflation

State-level price pressures: housing inflation, cost of living vs. the national average, and consumer-price inflation by census region. Three bars per state show the latest YoY housing-price change, the state's cost-of-living deviation from 100 (US average), and the regional CPI YoY rate. Green is the consumer-friendly direction; red is the opposite.

Updated June 8, 2026Source: FHFA, BEA and BLS via FRED

Grading
Rank each state against the others. Top performers green, worst red.
Focus
Color by the average of every metric (current state + trend together).
Housing inflationCost of living vs USInflation (CPI)good direction (cheaper/falling)bad direction (more expensive/rising)

Across our coverage

Where is housing inflation highest?

  1. 1.Alaska+7.4%
  2. 2.Connecticut+6.5%
  3. 3.New York+6.1%
  4. 4.Illinois+5.8%
  5. 5.New Jersey+5.4%
  6. 6.New Hampshire+5.3%
  7. 7.Pennsylvania+5.3%
  8. 8.Michigan+5.0%
  9. 9.Wisconsin+4.9%
  10. 10.Maine+4.9%

State FHFA HPI year-over-year · Largest YoY rise in state home prices, FHFA all-transactions index, latest quarter.

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Where is housing inflation lowest?

  1. 1.Colorado+0.8%
  2. 2.District of Columbia+0.9%
  3. 3.Texas+1.2%
  4. 4.Hawaii+1.3%
  5. 5.Washington+1.7%
  6. 6.Nevada+1.8%
  7. 7.Idaho+1.8%
  8. 8.California+1.8%
  9. 9.Florida+1.9%
  10. 10.Oregon+2.0%

State FHFA HPI year-over-year · Smallest YoY rise (or biggest fall) in state home prices.

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Where is cost of living highest?

  1. 1.California110.7
  2. 2.Hawaii110.0
  3. 3.District of Columbia109.9
  4. 4.New Jersey108.8
  5. 5.New York107.9
  6. 6.Washington107.0
  7. 7.Massachusetts105.8
  8. 8.Maryland105.0
  9. 9.New Hampshire104.2
  10. 10.Connecticut103.6

BEA Regional Price Parities, All Items · Highest RPP level (100 = US national average); higher = more expensive.

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Where is cost of living lowest?

  1. 1.Arkansas86.9
  2. 2.Mississippi87.0
  3. 3.Iowa87.8
  4. 4.Oklahoma87.8
  5. 5.Louisiana88.2
  6. 6.South Dakota88.6
  7. 7.Alabama88.8
  8. 8.North Dakota89.0
  9. 9.West Virginia89.5
  10. 10.Kansas90.1

BEA Regional Price Parities, All Items · Lowest RPP level (100 = US national average); lower = cheaper.

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Where is inflation rising fastest?

  1. 1.Connecticut+4.7%
  2. 2.Maine+4.7%
  3. 3.Massachusetts+4.7%
  4. 4.New Hampshire+4.7%
  5. 5.New Jersey+4.7%
  6. 6.New York+4.7%
  7. 7.Pennsylvania+4.7%
  8. 8.Rhode Island+4.7%
  9. 9.Vermont+4.7%
  10. 10.Illinois+4.3%

Regional CPI YoY (4 census regions) · Highest YoY CPI rate among the 4 census regions; states inherit their region's value.

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Where is inflation rising slowest?

  1. 1.Alabama+3.9%
  2. 2.Arkansas+3.9%
  3. 3.Delaware+3.9%
  4. 4.District of Columbia+3.9%
  5. 5.Florida+3.9%
  6. 6.Georgia+3.9%
  7. 7.Kentucky+3.9%
  8. 8.Louisiana+3.9%
  9. 9.Maryland+3.9%
  10. 10.Mississippi+3.9%

Regional CPI YoY (4 census regions) · Lowest YoY CPI rate among the 4 census regions.

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Coverage · cheapest cost of living first

All 50 states + DC. Housing inflation and cost-of-living level are state-specific. The CPI YoY value uses the state's census region (NE, Midwest, South, West) because BLS does not publish a state-level CPI; states in the same region share that one number.

Methodology

Three reads per state. Housing inflation is the FHFA state house price index, year over year. Cost-of-living level is BEA's Regional Price Parities, where 100 is the U.S. average, so +5 means the state runs about 5 percent more expensive than the country as a whole. Consumer-price inflation is the BLS CPI for the state's census region.

There is no federal state-level CPI, so the regional figure is the most honest available proxy and every state in a region shares it. All percentage figures are nominal year-over-year changes.

Sources