Is United States expensive?

United States's overall price level is 100.0 against a United States baseline of 100 (2025 data), which makes it about as expensive as the United States. It ranks 19th of 204 countries by price level, dearest first.

How does United States compare with New Zealand?

United States is 12% dearer than New Zealand on national price levels.

North America · Washington D.C.

Cost of living in United States

100.0 with the United States at 100

Prices in United States are about the same as the United States, and it ranks 19th of 204 countries by price level (dearest first). Figures are for 2025.

Against New Zealand it is 12% dearer.

Two agencies agree. For 2024, the World Bank's figure works out at 100.0 and Eurostat's at 100.0 — a gap of 0.0 points. Two independent programmes landing within 5 points is the strongest evidence available that the level is right.

Compared with its region

United States against the North America countries closest to it on price level.

SOURCE·World Bank — International Comparison Program·PPP conversion factor for household final consumption, and the official market exchange rate. CC BY 4.0.·REVIEWED AUG 2026

What is dear and what is cheap

Eurostat prices 1 spending categories separately for United States (2024), again with the United States at 100. This is where a national average stops being one number: a country can be cheap to eat in and expensive to drive in.

Overall consumption (incl. government-funded services) 100.0

SOURCE·Eurostat — purchasing power parities (prc_ppp_ind)·Price level indices by consumption category, published on an EU27=100 basis and rebased here to US=100. CC BY 4.0.·REVIEWED AUG 2026

What this figure is, and is not

It is an index, not a price. 100.0 means the general level of consumer prices, with the US at 100. It is not a shopping bill and this site never quotes one.
It is national, not city. Washington D.C. is almost certainly dearer than this. National averages cannot answer a city question.
It is not your budget. What you actually spend depends on rent, transport and habits far more than on the national average.

How the price level is worked out

The World Bank publishes a purchasing power parity for household consumption — how much local currency buys the same basket as one US dollar — and the official market exchange rate for the same year.
The price level is simply PPP ÷ exchange rate × 100. If a basket needs 1.50 New Zealand dollars per US dollar of purchasing power but the market hands you 1.65 New Zealand dollars for that dollar, New Zealand's prices sit at 1.50 ÷ 1.65 = 91% of the US level.
Nothing is modelled, smoothed or estimated. You can reproduce every number on this site from two public figures.
Where Eurostat also publishes a price level for the same country and year, the two are compared and the gap is printed — including when they disagree.

Full methodology →