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Ranked: America’s Least Affordable Cities Going into 2025
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Inflation may have come down from its post-pandemic highs, but Americans are still feeling the effects of the rapid price rise in the last three years.
And some places in the country are simply more expensive than others due to larger populations, more economic opportunities, desirable communities, and high taxes.
This chart ranks the 25 least affordable of America’s 50 largest cities by average monthly household spending on 10 common bills.
Data is sourced from payment platform Doxo’s annual report tracking household expenditure.
America’s Most Expensive Large City: San Jose
America’s least affordable large cities are clustered along the coasts.
California alone has five of them, led by San Jose, where households spend nearly $3,700 dollars a month.
| Rank | City | State | Average Household Monthly Spend |
% of Average Household Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose | CA | $3,695 | 32% |
| 2 | New York | NY | $3,639 | 38% |
| 3 | Boston | MA | $3,410 | 41% |
| 4 | San Francisco | CA | $3,359 | 29% |
| 5 | San Diego | CA | $3,324 | 39% |
| 6 | Los Angeles | CA | $3,113 | 51% |
| 7 | Seattle | WA | $3,049 | 33% |
| 8 | Washington | DC | $2,991 | 34% |
| 9 | Miami | FL | $2,867 | 49% |
| 10 | Portland | OR | $2,758 | 36% |
| 11 | Denver | CO | $2,743 | 38% |
| 12 | Atlanta | GA | $2,678 | 38% |
| 13 | Austin | TX | $2,612 | 32% |
| 14 | Fort Lauderdale | FL | $2,555 | 40% |
| 15 | Sacramento | CA | $2,459 | 38% |
| 16 | Las Vegas | NV | $2,407 | 42% |
| 17 | Phoenix | AZ | $2,395 | 40% |
| 18 | Colorado Springs | CO | $2,393 | 35% |
| 19 | Tampa | FL | $2,393 | 41% |
| 20 | Dallas | TX | $2,370 | 39% |
| 21 | Charlotte | NC | $2,339 | 34% |
| 22 | Chicago | IL | $2,334 | 37% |
| 23 | Saint Paul | MN | $2,302 | 31% |
| 24 | Baltimore | MD | $2,287 | 43% |
| 25 | Orlando | FL | $2,251 | 38% |
Seattle ($3,049/month) and Portland ($2,758/month) also make the top 10, further representing the West Coast.
A brief glance at the map shows the other expensive cities are found along the Eastern Seaboard and—more surprisingly—down in the South. Southern states are generally known for lower costs of living.
The middle of the country is conspicuously unmarked except for Denver ($2,743/month) and Colorado Springs ($2,393/month).
But just dollars spent isn’t everything.
By looking at the share of monthly income put towards these bills, some cities on the coasts are more affordable than, say, Baltimore ($2,287/month) and Orlando ($2,251/month). Households there spend fewer dollars, but more as a proportion of their earned income.
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So which cities spend the least on bills? Check out: America’s Most Affordable Cities Going Into 2025 for a breakdown.
