Cost of Living API

GET

Compare cost of living differences across US cities and states.

Cost of Living provides cost of living indices for US regions based on major metropolitan area data. Compare the relative cost of living between states, cities, or regions and calculate salary equivalents for relocation decisions.

Try it — live request, no key required

Request

GETapi.apiverve.com/v1/costliving?location=California

Query parameters

locationstring

Verification

Format

No key required to try it. Get a key to use it in your app.

Example

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "searchedLocation": "California",
    "region": "west-large",
    "regionName": "West Large Metros (LA, SF, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver area)",
    "costIndex": 107,
    "description": "7% above average",
    "cpi": 356.993,
    "usAverageCPI": 334.98,
    "period": "2026-08",
    "note": "Cost index is relative to US average (100). Values above 100 indicate higher than average cost of living."
  }
}

About the Cost of Living API

Cost of Living uses regional Consumer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to calculate relative cost indices. The national average is set to 100, so an index of 120 means 20% more expensive than average. Data is aggregated by Census region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) for large metro areas.

What people use it for

Relocation Planning: Compare cost of living when considering job offers in different states or cities
Salary Negotiations: Calculate salary equivalents across different regions
Business Location: Factor cost of living into business location and expansion decisions
HR Planning: Set location-adjusted compensation for remote or distributed teams

Ways to call it

One endpoint, many ways in — REST with JSON, XML, YAML and CSV, plus GraphQL and an MCP interface for AI agents.

JSON: Default REST response
XML: Markup format
YAML: Human-readable
CSV: Tabular export
GraphQL: Query language
MCP: For AI agents

View all integrations →

Other ways to use Cost of Living

Same data, same APIVerve account, same credit balance — one key works on all of them.

Give it to an AI agentConnect over MCP and your agent calls it as a native tool — Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT.on VerveKit Google Sheets or ExcelA =VERVE() formula fills a column — no script, no export, recalculates in place.on VerveSheets Ground an agent on itA cited, machine-checkable fact your model can't produce on its own.on VerveContext

Questions.

Common questions about the Cost of Living API.

Read the docs →

Which US locations can I look up?

You can query by full state name, two-letter state code like CA or NY, or major city names. Queries are matched against metropolitan data across the four US Census regions: Northeast, Midwest, South, and West.

Can I calculate equivalent salaries on the Free plan?

No, salary conversions require a paid plan. Passing the salary parameter and receiving equivalent salary amounts or regional identifiers are premium features available on Starter and higher tiers. The Free plan returns standard cost index and percentage difference data.

Is it cheap enough to calculate living cost adjustments for every relocation inquiry?

Yes. Each comparison or lookup costs 2 credits, which works out to about $0.30 per 1,000 calls on the Starter plan. You also receive 100 free calls each month to test your integration before subscribing.

Where does the cost of living data come from?

Indices are calculated using regional Consumer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The dataset tracks monthly figures across four US Census regions for major metropolitan areas, setting the national baseline at 100.

Can I display these cost comparisons in a commercial relocation app?

Yes, commercial use is permitted on any paid plan. You can integrate index comparisons and salary calculations directly into your product, provided you do not resell or redistribute the raw data as-is.

Request parameters — GET /v1/costliving

Sent in the query string. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them. Anything not listed here is dropped rather than passed through.

Required

Parameter	Type	Example	Description
`location`Required	string	`California`	State name, state code (e.g., CA, NY), or major city name.

Example request

1
2

curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving?location=California" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Authentication

Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — no token exchange, and no per-endpoint scope to configure.

Header	When	Value
`x-api-key`Required	Every request	Your API key. Header names are case-insensitive, so `X-API-Key` is the same header.
`Authorization`Alternate	Instead of the above	`Bearer <key>` — for clients that only expose bearer auth. Resolves to the same account and the same billing.

401 is the only auth verdict

A 401 means the key is missing, invalid or expired. A 403 means the key is valid but not permitted here — blocked by a key restriction or an IP allow-list. Running out of credits is a 429.

Response — GET /v1/costliving

Every APIVerve endpoint returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape.

Sample response

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "searchedLocation": "California",
    "region": "west-large",
    "regionName": "West Large Metros (LA, SF, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver area)",
    "costIndex": 107,
    "description": "7% above average",
    "cpi": 356.993,
    "usAverageCPI": 334.98,
    "period": "2026-08",
    "note": "Cost index is relative to US average (100). Values above 100 indicate higher than average cost of living."
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Field	Type	Example	Description
`searchedLocation`	string	`"California"`	The queried location name or code provided
`region`Premium	string	`"west-large"`	Region identifier (e.g., west-large, south-large)
`regionName`Premium	string	`"West Large Metros (LA, SF, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver area)"`	Full region name with major cities included
`costIndex`	number	`107`	Cost of living index (100 is national average)
`description`	string	`"7% above average"`	Plain-language summary of how the location compares to the US average
`cpi`	number	`356.993`	Consumer price index for the location
`usAverageCPI`	number	`334.98`	Consumer price index for the US as a whole, for comparison
`period`	string	`"2026-08"`	Month the index values are for, as YYYY-MM
`note`	string	`"Cost index is relative to US average (100). Values above 100 indicate higher than average cost of living."`	How to read the index: 100 is the US average, above 100 is more expensive

Response headers

Every response carries your balance, so your own code always knows where it stands without polling anything. All four are exposed to browsers through CORS.

Header	What it carries
`x-api-remaining-credits`	Credits left in the current cycle
`x-api-credits-used`	Credits spent in the current cycle
`x-api-max-credits`	The allowance for the cycle
`x-api-version`	Version of the endpoint that answered

Errors

Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change.

Status	Meaning	What to do
`400`	Input was rejected	Read `error`; it names the parameter that has to change.
`401`	Key missing or invalid	Check the header name and the key value.
`403`	Key valid, but not permitted here	A key restriction or an IP allow-list — never a bad key.
`429`	Rate limited, or out of credits	Read `error` to tell them apart, then back off or top up.

What a call costs — 2 credits per call

Credits are shared across every APIVerve API — one balance, one key, one bill. Failed requests never count against it, so a rejected input costs nothing.

Plan	Per month	Credits	Cost of Living calls	Per 1,000 calls
Free	Free	200	100	Free
Starter	$29.99	200,000	100,000	$0.30
Pro	$99.99	1,000,000	500,000	$0.20
Mega	$299.99	4,000,000	2,000,000	$0.15

Calls are what the credits buy at this API's rate — spend them here, on any of the other APIs, or across both. Nothing is reserved per endpoint.

Compare all pricing tiers →

Call it from cURL — GET /v1/costliving

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/costliving with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

cURL

1
2

curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Resources

GitHubapiverve/costliving-apiSource, issues and the examples this page is built from.ReferenceCost of Living API docsEvery parameter, every response field, and the errors.ParametersWhat this call acceptsRequired and optional inputs, with example values.

Also published for

@apiverve/costlivingnpm APIVerve.API.CostofLivingNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Node.js — GET /v1/costliving

Install the Node.js SDK, then call the Cost of Living API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.

Install — npm

npm install @apiverve/costliving

Node.js

const res = await fetch("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving", {
  headers: { "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" },
});
const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);

Resources

npm@apiverve/costlivingThe published Node.js client, versioned and signed.GitHubapiverve/costliving-apiSource, issues and the examples this page is built from.ReferenceCost of Living API docsEvery parameter, every response field, and the errors.ParametersWhat this call acceptsRequired and optional inputs, with example values.

Also published for

APIVerve.API.CostofLivingNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Python — GET /v1/costliving

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/costliving with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

Python

import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving",
    headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
print(res.json()["data"])

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/costlivingnpm APIVerve.API.CostofLivingNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from C# / .NET — GET /v1/costliving

Install the C# / .NET SDK, then call the Cost of Living API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.

Install — NuGet

dotnet add package APIVerve.API.CostofLiving

C# / .NET

using var client = new HttpClient();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY");

var json = await client.GetStringAsync("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving");
Console.WriteLine(json);

Resources

NuGetAPIVerve.API.CostofLivingThe published C# / .NET client, versioned and signed.GitHubapiverve/costliving-apiSource, issues and the examples this page is built from.ReferenceCost of Living API docsEvery parameter, every response field, and the errors.ParametersWhat this call acceptsRequired and optional inputs, with example values.

Also published for

@apiverve/costlivingnpm

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Go — GET /v1/costliving

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/costliving with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving", nil)
req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY")

res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
defer res.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/costlivingnpm APIVerve.API.CostofLivingNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from PHP — GET /v1/costliving

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/costliving with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

PHP

$ch = curl_init("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, ["x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"]);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
echo $response;

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/costlivingnpm APIVerve.API.CostofLivingNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Ruby — GET /v1/costliving

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/costliving with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

Ruby

require "net/http"

uri = URI("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving")
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["x-api-key"] = "YOUR_API_KEY"

res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true) { |h| h.request(req) }
puts res.body

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/costlivingnpm APIVerve.API.CostofLivingNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Finance

View all 49 →

All articles →

Enrich Your CRM with Public Company DataAutomatically fill in company details for sales leads using SEC data. Ticker, industry, address, and more from a single API call.Read

Currency Conversion: Handling Exchange Rates CorrectlyExchange rates change constantly. Learn how to handle currency conversion in applications with accuracy and reliability.Read

Going Global: Building Multi-Currency AppsYour app works great in dollars. Now a customer in Germany wants to pay in euros. Here's what to know.Read

Cost of Living API

Try it — live request, no key required

About the Cost of Living API

What people use it for

Ways to call it

Other ways to use Cost of Living

Questions.

Request parameters — GET /v1/costliving

Required

Authentication

Response — GET /v1/costliving

Response fields

Response headers

Errors

What a call costs — 2 credits per call

Call it from cURL — GET /v1/costliving

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Node.js — GET /v1/costliving

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Python — GET /v1/costliving

Resources

Also published for

Call it from C# / .NET — GET /v1/costliving

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Go — GET /v1/costliving

Resources

Also published for

Call it from PHP — GET /v1/costliving

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Ruby — GET /v1/costliving

Resources

Also published for

Zero-code embed — one snippet, no backend

Changelog — Cost of Living API

Finance

Related articles

Ready to build with Cost of Living? Start with 200 free credits — one key unlocks all 300+ APIs.

Explore the catalog