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The cost of living can vary among states, and the most expensive areas often have ocean coastlines.
Hawai'i, California, and Massachusetts are the most expensive states based on online bill-paying service Doxo's cost of bills index. The ranking, released on June 12, looks at how much the average household spends each month on the 10 most common bills, including utilities, cell phone, health insurance, and either rent or mortgage, and is based on Doxo's national bill payment statistics. Those 10 costs represent more than 75% of monthly household expenses, per Doxo.
Doxo's cost of bill index compares each state — along with cities and counties — to the national average. Hawai'i came in as the most expensive state, with the average household spending $3,091 monthly on the 10 essential bills, 45% above the US average. Meanwhile, West Virginia is the cheapest state to live in, with residents spending $1,596 monthly on bills, 25% below average.
According to Doxo's data, with additional information from the US Census Bureau, the average household now spends $2,126 monthly on the top 10 bills, up 4% from a year ago and 19% since 2019. Meanwhile, median US household income was up just 0.2% in the past year and 14% since 2019.
To be sure, many states with high living costs also have higher income levels for their residents. Doxo's index was also adjusted for the average income in each state.
Here are the 10 states with the most expensive essential monthly bills and the 10 with the cheapest.