San Diego Ranks as Most Expensive Place to Live in the US
San Diego is the most expensive place to live in the United States, according to the U.S. News & World Report ranking of the priciest metro areas in the country.
U.S. News & World Report concluded that San Diego was the most expensive place to live in the US based on its Value Score, which measures how comfortably an average resident can afford to live within their means.
San Diego took home a Value Score of 3.3 in the latest ranking, beating out cities such as Los Angeles, Honolulu, Miami, and Santa Barbara, which took second through fifth place in that order.
The quality of life in San Diego, however, remained high. According to U.S. News & World Report, San Diego’s Quality of Life score came in at 6.7 — the highest in the top five besides Honolulu.
As far as why San Diego ranked as one of the most expensive places to live, the report indicates that housing prices was a primary driver. (If you’d like to learn more, you can read about why property values are so high in California.)
Other factors in U.S. News & World Report’s calculations include:
- Housing costs like apartment maintenance fees and homeowner association dues
- Electricity costs
- Gasoline
- Dining costs
- Medical care
However, despite the fact that San Diego is one of the most expensive places to live in the US, residents still get a plethora of benefits for paying the so-called “sunshine tax.”
The weather is consistently temperate and mild, with year-round temperatures in San Diego staying in a comfortable zone. And, recently, San Diego came in second place in a ranking of the “Best Cities in the US” because of hot hotel openings, a legitimate food scene with world-class cuisine, and some of the best beaches in the U.S.
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