It can be expensive to reside in San Jose, California.
The Council for Community and Economic Research, or C2ER, publishes a quarterly Cost of Living Index for US urban areas. The composite index is based on local prices of healthcare, housing, and four other categories.
"The Cost of Living Index measures regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures, for professional and managerial households in the top income quintile," stated a recent press release.
According to the press release, there were 274 urban areas that participated in the second quarter of this year. A score of 100 means it's equivalent to the national average for the 274 urban areas. While Manhattan had the highest Cost of Living Index score at 225.8, four places in California made the top 10, including San Jose and San Francisco.
San Jose had a composite index of 174.9 in the second quarter of 2023. None of the 10 participating urban areas in California for the second quarter had an index below 100, meaning they all were more expensive than the average US city in the study.
The following list shows how the areas in California with data from the second quarter ranked based on their composite indexes. We also included average prices for apartment rent and other things for each place according to C2ER. There were different criteria for these average prices. For instance, home prices below are based on newly-built four-bedroom, two-full-bathroom homes that satisfy a range of criteria. Doctor visit prices are based on an examination for established patients without insurance.