Cost of Living Snapshot - October 2024 Update

October 2024 update to the Cost of Living snapshot for the Metro Atlanta area.

1. REGIONAL SNAPSHOT:
Metro Atlanta Cost of Living
October 2024
Will Wright
Principal Data Scientist
[email protected]

2. In summary…
According to the C2ER Cost of Living Index (COLI), Metro Atlanta’s overall cost of living is
slightly less than that of the national average. Manhattan (NYC), not surprisingly, has the
highest cost of living of any urban area on the list.
A metro Atlanta resident with a $50,000 salary moving to Manhattan would need to make
$118,107 to have equivalent spending power there. A move to San Francisco requires $87,603,
while a move to Dallas requires (a slightly higher) $52,623.
Atlanta’s cost of housing is lower than most of its peer metros, but this is offset by Atlanta’s
comparatively more expensive healthcare costs.
Compared to the national index average of 100, metro Atlanta health care is 8.2 percent more
expensive than in the average metro area, buthousing is 14.6 percent less expensive.
While the C2ER Cost of Living Index uses a similar methodology as the Consumer Price Index
(CPI), the COLI is not in itself a measure of inflation. We include data from the CPI in this
snapshot as a reference.

3. 88.4
90.3
93
93.6
95.7
95.9
96.6
97.2
98.7
100.7
101.6
103.1
103.7
107.3
108.2
115
116
120.3
140.6
144.1
145.6
146.3
148.6
167.4
226
0 50 100 150 200 250
St. Louis MO-IL
San Antonio TX
Houston TX
Minneapolis MN
Atlanta GA
Orlando FL
Austin TX
Tampa FL
Charlotte NC
Baltimore MD
Dallas TX
Philadelphia PA
Detroit MI
Phoenix AZ
Denver CO
Chicago IL
Portland OR
Miami-Dade County FL
Washington DC
Boston MA
San Diego CA
Seattle WA
Los Angeles-Long Beach CA
San Francisco CA
New York (Manhattan) NY
Cost of Living for 25 Most Populous Metros
Average cost of living
Every year, the Council for Community and
Economic Research (C2ER) creates a Cost
of Living Index (COLI) for roughly 250 U.S.
metro areas and their central cities. A COLI
score of 100 represents the average cost of
living across all the areas studied.
The chart to the left shows the COLI score
for country’s 25 most populous metros. With
a composite score of 95.7, the Atlanta
metro is slightly below the nationwide
average cost of living. For many years, the
Atlanta metro area and its central city have
hovered at or around a score of 100.
Subsequent slides take a closer look at
differences in the cost of living between
these metros.
Source: C2ER Cost of Living (COLI) Q2 2024, ARC Research & Analytics

4. 90
110
130
150
170
190
210
230
250
270
290
200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Selected Components of CPI in Metro Atlanta
CPI- All ItemsFood At HomeFood Away From HomeHousingPrivate TransportationMotor Fuel
Atlanta Consumer Price Index: Components
Motor Fuel
Housing
Overall
Source: U.S, Bureau of Labor Statistics, ARC Research & Analytics
Food At Home
Food Away
Transportation
COLI offers a point-in-time measure
and comparison for cost of living
across the nation. While Atlanta
may rank near the national average
year after year, that does not mean
that our cost of living hasn’t
increased. This chart shows that
Atlanta’s Consumer Price Index
has increased by roughly 80
percent since 2000, and the costs
of Motor Fuel and Food Away
(restaurants) have seen the
greatest increase.

5. Atlanta Consumer Price Index: The Long View
Source: U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, ARC Research & Analytics
Similar to the previous chart, this shows only the overall levels of inflation over the past 20 years, or so. As can be seen, inflation soared immediately following the
pandemic. This happened in all metros, but it was a particularly steep rise in metro Atlanta. But, as of the latest reading, inflation has dropped below 2%,
which puts it on par with levels last seen prior to the Great Recession.
-6.0%
-4.0%
-2.0%
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
12.0%
14.0%
Feb-2001
June-2001
Oct-2001Feb-2002
June-2002
Oct-2002Feb-2003
June-2003
Oct-2003Feb-2004
June-2004
Oct-2004Feb-2005
June-2005
Oct-2005Feb-2006
June-2006
Oct-2006Feb-2007
June-2007
Oct-2007Feb-2008
June-2008
Oct-2008Feb-2009
June-2009
Oct-2009Feb-2010
June-2010
Oct-2010Feb-2011
June-2011
Oct-2011Feb-2012
June-2012
Oct-2012Feb-2013
June-2013
Oct-2013Feb-2014
June-2014
Oct-2014Feb-2015
June-2015
Oct-2015Feb-2016
June-2016
Oct-2016Feb-2017
June-2017
Oct-2017Feb-2018
June-2018
Oct-2018Feb-2019
June-2019
Oct-2019Feb-2020
June-2020
Oct-2020Feb-2021
June-2021
Oct-2021Feb-2022
June-2022
Oct-2022Feb-2023
June-2023
Oct-2023Feb-2024
June-2024
Inflation in Metro Atlanta

6. How Metro Atlanta Compares Today
0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
4.0%
AtlantaBaltimoreChicagoDetroitHoustonLos AngelesMiamiNew YorkPhiladelphiaPhoenixSan
Francisco
SeattleSt Louis
Annual % Change in Inflation (August 23 – August 24)
Source: U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, ARC Research & Analytics
While COLI offers a point-in-time measure and comparison for cost of living across the nation, it is not the official measure of inflation, as indicated
on the previous slide. The chart above is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is widely cited as the official measure of inflation. As can be
seen, inflation in metro Atlanta from 2023 to 2024 is among the lowest among peer cities, with only Houston being particularly close.

7. How Metro Atlanta Compares (What It Used To Look
Like)
Source: U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, ARC Research & Analytics
0.00%
2.00%
4.00%
6.00%
8.00%
10.00%
12.00%
14.00%
AtlantaBaltimoreChicagoDetroitHoustonLos AngelesMiamiNew YorkPhiladelphiaPhoenixSan FranciscoSeattleSt Louis
Change in Inflation (June 21 – June 22)
Compared to the one-year change in inflation from 2021 to 2022, we see that Atlanta’s percentage has dropped dramatically compared to other
major metro areas nationally. In this earlier time period, metro Atlanta featured a year-over-year change in inflation close to 12%, which trailed only
Phoenix in the group of peer cities shown above.

8. Mapping Cost of Living
Lowest
Highest
Over time, trends in
COLI scores have
shown distinct
patterns, with metros
in the Northeast,
California and
Northwest typically
having higher costs
of living than other
parts of the country.

9. $46,186
$47,179
$48,589
$48,903
$50,000
$50,104
$50,470
$50,784
$51,567
$52,612
$53,083
$53,866
$54,180
$56,061
$56,531
$60,084
$60,606
$62,853
$73,459
$75,287
$76,071
$76,437
$77,638
$87,461
$118,077
$0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000 $140,000
St. Louis MO-IL
San Antonio TX
Houston TX
Minneapolis MN
Atlanta GA
Orlando FL
Austin TX
Tampa FL
Charlotte NC
Baltimore MD
Dallas TX
Philadelphia PA
Detroit MI
Phoenix AZ
Denver CO
Chicago IL
Portland OR
Miami-Dade County FL
Washington DC
Boston MA
San Diego CA
Seattle WA
Los Angeles-Long Beach CA
San Francisco CA
New York (Manhattan) NY
Income Equivalent to $50,000 in Atlanta
This chart shows the income needed in
each of the 25 most populous metros to
match the spending power of $50,000 in
Atlanta. We can see that a New Yorker
living in the Manhattan borough would
need to make 121% more income there
($110,558) to have buying power
equivalent to a $50,000 salary in
Atlanta. An income of $50,000 in Atlanta
would provide roughly equivalent
spending power in the Tampa, Charlotte,
Philadelphia, and Orlando metro areas. In
St. Louis, someone would have to earn
“only” $44,124 to match the buying power
of a $50,000 salary in Atlanta.
Source: C2ER Cost of Living (COLI) Q2 2024, ARC Research & Analytics

10. 226
167.4
148.6
95.7 93 90.3 88.4
495.3
263.9
232.1
85.4
75.6
78.3
74
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
New York
(Manhattan) NY
San Francisco CALos Angeles-Long
Beach CA
Atlanta GA Houston TX San Antonio TXSt. Louis MO-IL
CompositeGroceryHousingUtilitiesTransportationHealth CareMisc.
Comparing highest vs. lowest COLIs
among the 25 most populous metros
In comparing the cost of living between the
most expensive and least expensive of the
25 most populous metros, we can see that
housing plays an outsized role in both the
overall index score and the rankings. While
the index score for most index categories
in the high-COLI cities is only modestly
higher than similar scores in low-COLI
cities, the largest variations between
areas occur in housing expenditures.
Source: C2ER Cost of Living (COLI) Q2 2024, ARC Research & Analytics

11. 95.7
98.7
101.6
93
99.9
140.6
0
50
100
150
200
250
Atlanta GA Charlotte NC Dallas TX Houston TX Nashville-Murfreesboro
TN
Washington DC
Composite Grocery Housing UtilitiesTransportationHealth CareMisc.
COLI Comparisons: Peer Metros
Here, we’ve compared Atlanta’s COLI scores to those
of its peer metros as defined in the ARC’s CATLYST
regional economic strategy. Again, we see the role
that housing plays in defining higher and lower costs
of living among metros. Indeed, Atlanta’s relatively
low housing costs help offset higher COLI scores in
other categories (such as in health care).
Source: C2ER Cost of Living (COLI) Q2 2024, ARC Research & Analytics

12. Atlanta GA
Austin TX
Baltimore MD
Boston MA
Charlotte NC
Chicago IL
Dallas TX
Denver CO
Detroit MI
Houston TX
Los Angeles-Long Beach CA
Miami-Dade County FL
Minneapolis MN
New York NY-NJ MSA
Orlando FL
Philadelphia PA
Phoenix AZ
Portland OR
San Antonio TX
San Diego CA
San Francisco CA
Seattle WA
St. Louis MO-IL
Tampa FL
Washington DC
$50
$60
$70
$80
$90
$100
$110
$120
$130
$140
75 95 115 135 155 175 195 215 235
Median Income
Thousands
Cost of Living Index (Composite Score)
Relationship Between Income and Cost of Living
Another way of thinking about cost of
living is assessing “how far you can
stretch every dollar” of your salary. At
left, we’re comparing median income
in the 25 most populous metros to
their COLI score. If a metro area’s
“point” appears above the trend
line, median income in that area is
more able to “absorb” its cost of
living. As we can see, Atlanta (red
dot) is just above the line.
Source: C2ER Cost of Living (COLI) Q2 2024, ESRI Business Analyst (2024), ARC Research & Analytics

13. $424,440
$359,523
$371,690
$403,946
$427,193
$438,378
$500,517
$454,460
$399,900
$383,800
$488,700
$466,756
$556,332
$608,725
$652,164
$563,738
$729,640
$727,879
$1,152,190
$1,050,000
$1,095,403
$1,131,920
$1,312,396
$1,379,768
$2,806,154
$0 $500,000$1,000,000$1,500,000$2,000,000$2,500,000$3,000,000
St. Louis MO-IL
San Antonio TX
Houston TX
Minneapolis MN
Atlanta GA
Orlando FL
Austin TX
Tampa FL
Charlotte NC
Baltimore MD
Dallas TX
Philadelphia PA
Detroit MI
Phoenix AZ
Denver CO
Chicago IL
Portland OR
Miami-Dade County FL
Washington DC
Boston MA
San Diego CA
Seattle WA
Los Angeles-Long Beach CA
San Francisco CA
New York (Manhattan) NY
Average Home Price: 25 Largest Metros
This chart shows C2ER’s measure of average
home prices for 2024 Q2, sorted from highest
composite index at the top of the chart to lowest
composite index at the bottom. We see that
average home prices in general follow the pattern
of the overall COLI scores. This relationship
underscores the large role that home prices
play in defining a metro area’s overall cost of
living. However, there are exceptions--areas
where we can discern more pronounced influence
of other COLI measures. For example, the
Washington DC metro features a higher average
home price than that of Seattle, San Diego, or
Boston, but Washington DC’s composite COLI is
lower than these other metro areas. The same
can be seen for the Denver metro area (lower
composite score, higher average home sale
price) compared to the Chicago metro area.
Source: C2ER Cost of Living (COLI) Q2 2024, ARC Research & Analytics

14. $1,092
$1,567
$1,268
$1,417
$1,408
$1,676
$1,845
$1,860
$1,570
$1,668
$1,553
$1,875
$1,565
$1,851
$1,892
$3,291
$2,500
$3,196
$3,152
$3,936
$3,119
$3,299
$2,920
$3,773
$5,772
$0 $1,000$2,000$3,000$4,000$5,000$6,000$7,000
St. Louis MO-IL
San Antonio TX
Houston TX
Minneapolis MN
Atlanta GA
Orlando FL
Austin TX
Tampa FL
Charlotte NC
Baltimore MD
Dallas TX
Philadelphia PA
Detroit MI
Phoenix AZ
Denver CO
Chicago IL
Portland OR
Miami-Dade County FL
Washington DC
Boston MA
San Diego CA
Seattle WA
Los Angeles-Long Beach CA
San Francisco CA
New York (Manhattan) NY
Average Monthly Apartment Rent: 25 Largest Metros
The COLI looks at additional measures
of housing costs, including average
monthly rent. Here we can see that
there is more variability in rent than
in home prices across the country’s
25 most populous metros. As before,
the chart is sorted by largest overall
composite index at the top to least at
the bottom. This pattern is another
testament to the relatively high
importance of the cost of housing in
determining a metro area’s overall (and
relative) cost of living.
Source: C2ER Cost of Living (COLI) Q2 2024, ARC Research & Analytics

15. Selected Metro
Composite
Index
Ground
Beef
Half-
Gallon
Milk
Dozen
Eggs BananasCoffeeWine Beer Sugar
New York (Manhattan) NY 226 7.16$ 5.18$ 4.00$ 0.79$ 7.64$ 14.99$ 11.98$ 4.86$
San Francisco CA 167.4 7.19$ 4.85$ 3.99$ 0.85$ 6.93$ 10.42$ 10.08$ 4.78$
Los Angeles-Long Beach CA 148.6 7.22$ 4.86$ 3.00$ 0.82$ 5.70$ 9.24$ 10.62$ 4.99$
Atlanta GA 95.7 7.20$ 4.55$ 3.35$ 0.70$ 5.14$ 10.91$ 10.62$ 4.83$
Houston TX 93 7.24$ 4.59$ 3.09$ 0.70$ 4.97$ 11.13$ 10.49$ 4.66$
San Antonio TX 90.3 7.26$ 4.56$ 2.84$ 0.72$ 4.76$ 11.08$ 10.35$ 4.28$
St. Louis MO-IL 88.4 7.22$ 4.61$ 3.52$ 0.78$ 4.81$ 10.41$ 9.42$ 4.26$
All Metro Average 7.23$ 4.65$ 3.22$ 0.73$ 5.13$ 11.82$ 10.18$ 4.64$
Comparing Costs of Select Grocery Items for
High COLI/ Low COLI Metros*
*Of the 25 most populous MSAs in the US
Three
highest
COLI
metros
Three
lowest
COLI
metros*
To develop COLI scores, C2ER researches the cost of basic groceries and
household goods. We see above that Atlantans are getting a comparative
bargain on milk and wine (the green shading represents relatively lower
costs), but less of a price advantage when it comes to beer & sugar (with
the red and orange shading representing relatively higher costs).
Source: C2ER Cost of Living (COLI) Q2 2024, ARC Research & Analytics

16. Selected Metro
Composite
Index
Optometrist
Visit
Doctor
Visit
Prescription
Drug Ibuprofen
New York (Manhattan) NY 226 142.00$ 213.75$ 14.82$ 11.46$
San Francisco CA 167.4 170.25$ 186.00$ 21.16$ 11.63$
Los Angeles-Long Beach CA 148.6 124.00$ 130.00$ 15.83$ 11.29$
Atlanta GA 95.7 129.78$ 132.50$ 21.85$ 10.88$
Houston TX 93 136.88$ 95.00$ 16.23$ 10.96$
San Antonio TX 90.3 139.75$ 147.00$ 21.70$ 10.87$
St. Louis MO-IL 88.4 95.67$ 96.22$ 19.73$ 11.02$
All Metro Average 128.73$ 142.98$ 19.48$ 10.99$
Comparing Select Medical Expenses for
High COLI / Low COLI Metros*
*Of the 25 most populous MSAs in the US
Three
highest
COLI
metros
Three
lowest
COLI
metros*
When it comes to medical costs, Atlanta residents are spending slightly above average for
optometrist visits but well below average on doctor visits. In a similar fashion, prescription drug
costs in Atlanta are above the national average, while typical over-the-counter drug costs here are
just slightly below the national average.
Source: C2ER Cost of Living (COLI) Q2 2024, ARC Research & Analytics

17. Selected Metro
Composite
Index Haircut Boy Jeans
Women
Slacks Newspaper Energy Cost
New York (Manhattan) NY 226 27.25$ 34.76$ 37.12$ 14.50$ 250.75$
San Francisco CA 167.4 28.00$ 27.26$ 53.42$ 16.65$ 385.00$
Los Angeles-Long Beach CA 148.6 28.25$ 33.99$ 35.25$ 5.00$ 212.44$
Atlanta GA 95.7 28.20$ 26.99$ 33.85$ 13.74$ 205.08$
Houston TX 93 28.60$ 29.99$ 56.80$ 21.62$ 172.12$
San Antonio TX 90.3 29.00$ 26.93$ 40.05$ 15.17$ 141.38$
St. Louis MO-IL 88.4 21.67$ 30.66$ 17.23$ 12.26$ 192.46$
All Metro Average 25.73$ 28.18$ 35.90$ 12.80$ 204.22$
Cost of Select Other Items for
High COLI/ Low COLI Metros*
*Of the 25 most populous MSAs in the US
Three
highest
COLI
metros
Three
lowest
COLI
metros*
Finally, the price of a few common goods are relatively similar to the national average in
metro Atlanta. The area’s energy costs, which previously have been far below the national
average, have increased drastically recently and are right around the national average but
well above those metro areas with the three lowest COLI scores. Newspaper and haircut
costs are slightly above the national average, while everyday clothing items like jeans and
slacks are just below the national average.
Source: C2ER Cost of Living (COLI) Q2 2024, ARC Research & Analytics