About Cost of Place

The site centers on an interactive U.S. cost map. On Total Cost and Housing, colors follow a ZIP-like surface built from city and local housing data. On Healthcare, Taxes, and Goods & Groceries, the map colors counties by modeled ACA premiums, state and local income tax, or estimated groceries and household goods.

The explorer above the map takes in income, ages, rent vs own, bedroom count, and healthcare assumptions. Click a place on the map for a monthly breakdown. Most clicks open a city detail panel; county-only areas open a county panel, with a link to the full county profile when one exists.

How we build the numbers

Published government and industry sources feed the model: Census median rents, metro rent calibration where available, typical home values, goods spending estimates, and healthcare base rates. Housing is resolved to cities and ZIP-like areas where data allows; taxes, healthcare, and goods stay at the county or state level. When you click Update map, state and local income tax and ACA net premium are recalculated from your explorer inputs. Figures are modeled estimates, not live quotes from landlords, lenders, or marketplaces.

Total Cost map | what's in the sum

On the Total Cost tab, the map colors ZIP-like cells by a modeled annual total for your household (see ZIP-like cost surface below):

total = housing + healthcare (if ACA on) + state/local income tax + goods

• Renting: housing = your bedroom tier's median monthly rent (rent_1br … rent_4br) × 12.
• Owning: housing = annual carrying cost on the tier's typical home value (see below), not the same number as the Housing tab when you own.
• Healthcare is $0 when ACA is off; otherwise your modeled net marketplace premium for that county.
• Goods use the USDA tier column for your household size (sizes 5–6 use the 4-person tier).

After you update the map, the affordability banner highlights the cheapest and most expensive places in the dataset using this same Total Cost math.

Total Cost and Housing maps | ZIP-like cost surface

On Total Cost and Housing, the map colors Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs), not USPS ZIP Codes. ZCTAs approximate ZIP delivery areas but boundaries do not match every ZIP. Housing values resolve per cell: direct ZCTA rent or home value when available, else the dominant overlapping city, else the dominant overlapping county. Taxes, healthcare, and goods still come from the county. Colors are relative national quantiles for your current explorer inputs (legend shows approximate dollar breakpoints). Clicks open the city or county detail panel, not a ZIP panel.

Small-area ACS medians can be unreliable. When a place or ZCTA rent for a bedroom tier is far below the county median or inconsistent with other tiers in the same area, we use the county value for that tier instead.

Housing map | median rent by bedroom

With Renting selected, the Housing tab annualizes median monthly gross rent for 1–4 bedrooms. Values come from the Census ACS 5-year (2023 table B25031) at the county level. In metro areas, bedroom medians are scaled by one regional Zillow Observed Rent Index growth factor so levels track recent market movement while keeping each county's shape across tiers.

Outside metros use ACS only. These are survey medians, not live listings, HUD Fair Market Rents, or neighborhood-level quotes within a county.

Housing map | typical home value when you own

With Owning selected, the Housing tab colors by typical home value for your bedroom tier (zhvi_1br_usd … zhvi_4_plus_usd): a county-level index when available, otherwise ACS-scaled tiers in the same fields. This is a price level for comparison, not mortgage payment or annual carrying cost (those sit on the Total Cost tab).

Annual cost of owning (Total tab only)

On Total Cost with Owning, the housing slice is a stylized annual carrying-cost estimate:

housing = (P × 0.035) + (P × T) + (P × 0.041)

• P = tier typical value (zhvi_*).
• T = county effective property tax rate (owner_effective_property_tax_decimal): ACS median owner property tax ÷ ACS median owner home value, applied to P.
• 0.035 = 3.5% of P/year for maintenance, insurance, and utilities combined.
• 0.041 = annualized mortgage factor (20% down, 6.40% note rate snapshot: 0.064 × 0.64). Not a live lender quote.

Taxes map | state and local income tax

The Taxes tab colors counties by modeled annual state + local income tax on your ordinary income, long-term capital gains, filing status, and adult ages. State brackets or flat rates, standard deductions, and local wage taxes (largest city where modeled) apply per county. Federal income tax is not in this map fill. Figures are illustrative, not tax advice.

Healthcare map | ACA premium after subsidy

The Healthcare tab shows your modeled annual marketplace premium after the premium tax credit (APTC), from household size, ages, filing status, and MAGI. Each county starts from a base second-lowest Silver plan rate at age 21; we scale that to your household's SLCSP and apply APTC from your inputs.

net = max(0, household SLCSP − APTC)

Household SLCSP scales the county base by federal age factors (21=1.00, 40=1.278, 64=3.00, under 15=0.765) for billed members (adults under 65 plus up to three oldest children under 21). APTC uses MAGI as a percent of the federal poverty level and a required contribution percentage that rises with income. Above 400% FPL there is a hard cliff: APTC drops to zero and you pay full SLCSP; then geography matters again on the map.

Limits: Premiums are assigned by ACA rating area, not always one county; some multi-area counties use a state average. State-based exchange states use a state surrogate rate. Not modeled: Medicare at 65+, married-filing-separately APTC eligibility, cost-sharing reductions, state top-up subsidies, Medicaid eligibility, tobacco surcharges. Not a marketplace enrollment quote.

Goods & groceries | household spending by state

The Goods & Groceries tab annualizes a national USDA Moderate-Cost household food plan, adjusted by each state's goods price index (every county in a state shares one multiplier):

annual = USDA_moderate_monthly[tier] × (state_goods_index ÷ 100) × 12

Tier follows household size 1–4; sizes 5–6 use the 4-person column. The basket covers food, clothing, and household supplies in line with the goods price index, not sales tax on top.

Place detail panel | how it differs from the map

Clicking the map opens a monthly breakdown for that city or county. Those totals use the rules below, not always the same as the Total Cost tab fill.

What we leave out on purpose

Sales tax on purchases is not added to goods or totals (true local rates vary by what you buy). Payroll taxes, AMT, itemized deductions, live apartment listings, appraisals, and street-level rent are out of scope. Nothing here is personalized tax, investment, or relocation advice.

Open the map, set your household and income, and click a place on the map to see the monthly breakdown.