Indicator Series Methodology: NACCRA produces the ACCRA Cost of Living Index to provide a useful and reasonably accurate measure of living cost differences among urban areas. Items on which the Index is based have been carefully chosen to reflect the different categories of consumer expenditures. Weights assigned to relative costs are based on government survey data on expenditure patterns for professional and executive households. All items are priced in each place at a specified time and according to standardized specifications.

Interpreting the index: The ACCRA Cost of Living Index measures relative price levels for consumer goods and services in participating areas. The average for all participating places, both metropolitan and non-metropolitan, equals 100, and each participant’s index is read as a percentage of the average for all places. The Index does not measure inflation (price change over time). Because each quarterly report is a separate comparison of prices at a single point in time, and because both the number and the mix of participants changes from one quarter to the next, Index data from different quarters cannot be compared. For inflation data, contact the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): View web page »