CostBy County

Data Methodology & Editorial Standards

How we source, calculate, and present cost of living data for every US county.

Data Source

All cost of living data on CostByCounty comes from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates (2020–2024). The ACS is the premier source of detailed demographic, social, economic, and housing data for every county and county-equivalent in the United States, surveying over 3.5 million households annually.

We use 5-year estimates rather than 1-year estimates because they provide reliable data for all counties, including smaller and rural areas where single-year sample sizes are insufficient. This ensures consistent coverage across the entire country.

Specific ACS Tables Used

  • B25077 — Median home value
  • B25064 — Median gross rent
  • B25088 — Median selected monthly owner costs for owner-occupied units
  • B25071 — Median gross rent as a percentage of household income (GRAPI)
  • B25119 — Household income by housing tenure
  • B19013 — Median household income across all households (context only)

Metrics Displayed

Each county page on CostByCounty presents the following cost of living metrics:

  • Median Home Value — The midpoint value of owner-occupied housing units in the county, as reported by the ACS.
  • Median Gross Rent — The midpoint monthly rent (including utilities) paid by renters in the county.
  • Monthly Housing Costs — The median total monthly cost for homeowners, including mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, and utilities.
  • Median Household Income — Shown as county context; it is not used to calculate the official renter-specific GRAPI measure.
  • Median Rent Burden — ACS B25071, the median gross rent as a percentage of household income among renter-occupied units. It is not the share of renter households above the 30% threshold.

How Metrics Are Calculated

Most metrics are reported directly from ACS estimates without transformation. Where we compute derived metrics:

  • Rent burden uses the direct ACS B25071 estimate. Where B25071 is suppressed, a separately labeled fallback divides annual median rent by median renter-household income; it is not represented as official GRAPI.
  • State comparisons use an unweighted mean of publishable county estimates. National reference values use the Census national estimate.
  • Housing Cost Score is the mean of the county's national percentile ranks for median rent and median selected monthly owner costs, with lower raw costs receiving higher scores.
Fallback Rent Percentage = (12 × Median Gross Rent / Median Renter-Household Income) × 100

All figures should be treated as estimates, not exact measurements. Census data is subject to sampling margins of error, particularly in smaller counties.

Geographic Coverage

CostByCounty covers 3,100+ counties and county-equivalents across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This includes counties, parishes (Louisiana), boroughs (Alaska), and independent cities (Virginia). Coverage is limited only by ACS data availability — a small number of very low-population areas may lack certain estimates.

Data Freshness

The current dataset uses the ACS 2020–2024 5-Year Estimates, which is the most recent release available from the Census Bureau. We update our data when new ACS releases are published, typically once per year. The last data refresh was completed in July 2026 after the Census release became available.

Because 5-year estimates represent a rolling average, they may lag behind rapid market changes. For the most current housing market conditions, we recommend supplementing our data with local real estate listings and reports.

AI-Generated Content

Some county briefs are drafted with artificial-intelligence assistance from a constrained prompt. Before publication, automated validators require exact county coverage, ACS table citations, the current data and methodology versions, numeric consistency, and the absence of causal, predictive, or recommendation language.

The raw data, metrics, and rankings displayed on this site are sourced directly from U.S. Census Bureau datasets and are not AI-generated. AI assistance is used only for sourced snapshot prose. Editorial articles use deterministic tables and documented formulas from the loaded dataset.

Limitations and Disclaimers

  • All data is informational only and should not be treated as financial, legal, or real estate advice.
  • ACS estimates are subject to margins of error, especially in low-population counties.
  • Cost of living encompasses many factors beyond housing (groceries, transportation, healthcare, taxes) that are not fully captured in ACS housing data alone.
  • We encourage users to verify important decisions with local data sources, real estate professionals, and financial advisors.

Questions or Corrections

If you have questions about our methodology or notice a data discrepancy, please contact us. We welcome feedback and data correction requests.