Regional Price Parities (RPPs) are the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s measure of how much price levels differ across states and metro areas in a given year, expressed against the national average (US = 100). In the current release — data year 2024, published February 19, 2026 — San Francisco has the highest metro RPP at 115.6 and Monroe, Louisiana the lowest at 83.6. A value of 115.6 means the same mix of goods and services costs about 15.6% more than the US average.
BEA publishes RPPs for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 387 metropolitan areas (BEA Regional Price Parities). Puerto Rico is not covered. Among states, California (110.7), Hawaii (110.0) and New Jersey (108.8) are highest for 2024; Arkansas (86.9) and Mississippi (87.0) are lowest.
The five numbers BEA publishes
| Index | What it covers |
|---|---|
| All items | Weighted average of everything below |
| Goods | Food, apparel, vehicles, gasoline and other goods |
| Housing (rents) | Rent levels, measured from Census survey data on tenant rents |
| Utilities | Electricity, natural gas and water |
| Other services | Medical care, education, recreation, transportation and other services |
BEA builds the index from Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price data for goods and services, Census American Community Survey microdata for rents and utilities, Energy Information Administration electricity and natural gas prices, and spending weights from BEA’s personal consumption expenditures by state (BEA RPP methodology; 2023 source-data update).
Selected metros, all five indexes (2024)
| Metro | All items | Goods | Housing | Utilities | Other services |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | 115.6 | 108.5 | 194.7 | 172.6 | 106.2 |
| Miami, FL | 114.2 | 103.6 | 155.6 | 97.2 | 109.1 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 113.6 | 106.6 | 170.4 | 158.6 | 104.4 |
| New York, NY-NJ | 112.6 | 110.3 | 148.6 | 127.0 | 105.8 |
| Seattle, WA | 111.1 | 104.0 | 151.3 | 92.8 | 106.8 |
| Denver, CO | 105.8 | 101.0 | 146.9 | 87.9 | 99.4 |
| Chicago, IL-IN | 103.6 | 107.3 | 112.0 | 83.6 | 100.5 |
| Phoenix, AZ | 103.3 | 95.0 | 121.2 | 93.3 | 104.0 |
| Dallas, TX | 103.1 | 102.8 | 117.9 | 90.7 | 99.7 |
| Austin, TX | 98.1 | 93.8 | 120.4 | 82.0 | 96.2 |
| Nashville, TN | 96.3 | 96.2 | 104.6 | 72.0 | 95.1 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 92.2 | 96.2 | 79.8 | 74.1 | 95.4 |
| Wichita, KS | 88.9 | 94.0 | 66.2 | 88.5 | 93.8 |
| Monroe, LA | 83.6 | 93.7 | 42.8 | 72.2 | 95.7 |
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by metropolitan area, 2024 (MARPP release).
What the components tell you
Housing drives most of the spread. Metro housing indexes run from 42.3 (Johnstown, PA) to 211.9 (San Jose, CA). Goods vary far less, from 93.6 (Hot Springs, AR) to 111.6 (Urban Honolulu). Monroe’s all-items 83.6 comes mostly from rents at 42.8; its goods prices (93.7) are only about 6% below average.
Components can point different ways. Chicago’s goods index (107.3) is higher than Dallas’s (102.8), but its housing index is lower (112.0 vs 117.9). An all-items number alone hides that.
Utilities are a separate line. Los Angeles (158.6) and San Francisco (172.6) have high utility price levels, while Nashville (72.0) is low. Renters see utilities folded into gross rent; owners pay them separately.
What the RPP leaves out
RPPs do not include income taxes, payroll taxes or local tax add-ons. Portland, Oregon (105.4) has a lower RPP than Seattle (111.1), yet a single earner on $150,000 keeps $4,920 more a year in Seattle after 2026 taxes and living costs, because Oregon taxes wages and Washington does not. See why taxes matter in a cost-of-living index.
How MoveMath uses RPPs
For each budget, MoveMath’s engine:
- Takes the USDA food plan cost (August 2026 report) and multiplies it by the metro’s goods index ÷ 100. A single adult on the Moderate-Cost plan comes to $413 a month in Austin (goods 93.8) and $486 in New York (goods 110.3).
- Scales your “other goods” spending by the goods index and “other services” by the other-services index. Those baselines are your inputs, not data.
- Prices rent with HUD Fiscal Year 2027 Fair Market Rents for the bedrooms you need, rather than the housing index, because HUD publishes a dollar rent by unit size.
- Adds 2026 federal, state and local taxes, state sales tax, and EIA gasoline and electricity prices.
The relocation budget planner shows each line with its source.
Getting the data yourself
BEA’s interactive tables and bulk files cover states (SARPP), metro areas (MARPP) and the metro and nonmetro parts of each state (PARPP). Every MoveMath metro page, such as San Francisco, Nashville and Monroe, shows the metro’s five indexes next to its state’s.