City Livability

Mini-site

Comparing cost indices (COL, rent, groceries, restaurants) with local purchasing power and mobility (walk + transit) across 10 U.S. cities.

High-level takeaways

• New York anchors the baseline at COL 100.0 with top transit (89).
• San Francisco pairs very high COL (97.3) with high purchasing power (160.9).
• Philadelphia stands out with the lowest rent (43.4) while staying reasonably mobile (Walk 75, Transit 67).
• Walk/transit strength clusters in the Northeast corridor (New York, Jersey City, DC, Boston).

Dataset excerpt (top 5 by Cost of Living ↓)

City Cost of Living Rent Purchasing Power Walk Transit
New York100.0100.0100.08889
San Francisco97.378.7160.98977
Seattle90.460.6166.97460
Washington DC90.169.3147.97769
Boston85.976.5159.78372