Your purchasing power can swing by as much as 30% from state to state.
As the cost of living in major cities continues to climb, the value of a dollar in the U.S. varies dramatically depending on where you spend it. While cost of living indices have tried to measure this for years, they often lack the flexibility to provide a clear, user-friendly comparison across different locations.
The Tax Foundation tackled these limitations by using the latest 2015 Bureau of Economic Analysis data to create a U.S. map showing how far $100 goes in each state. While the state-by-state approach doesn't capture local variations—for instance, $100 goes further in Fresno than Los Angeles—it still offers a useful snapshot of where your money stretches the most.
While the map might confirm some assumptions, it simplifies the geographic cost of living. For a beach lifestyle without California's high costs, consider Florida, where purchasing power is about average for the US. In a "Brewster's Millions"-type scenario, spending quickly in Hawaii, D.C., or New York is easy; you'll burn through your money in no time. If stretching your dollar matters, Mississippi offers a 16.1% higher purchasing power than the national average.
The Tax Foundation notes that if you're using this map for a practical purpose, bear in mind that incomes also tend to rise in similar fashion, so one could safely assume that wages in these states are roughly inverse to the purchasing power $100 represents.
This article originally appeared seven years ago.
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