cost_of_living_scorecard_county
One row per US county. Cost-of-living metrics: EPI family budget components indexed national=100 (housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare), USDA food access (food desert %, grocery density, food insecurity), BEA RPP, real median income index, and budget-to-income ratio. MIT Living Wage metrics absent — not automatable per MIT terms of service.
tier bcomposite_index
overview
overview
All 3,222 US counties. EPI budget components and USDA food access populated. MIT Living Wage absent (terms-of-service constraint).
current vintage — EPI 2026 + BEA RPP 2023 + USDA 2025
history — Snapshot only; rebuilt per vintage
provenance
source & licensing
authority
Economic Policy Institute|U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis|U.S. Department of Agriculture
dataset
EPI Family Budget Calculator + BEA Regional Price Parities + USDA Food Environment Atlas
source url
license
Mixed — see component cost-of-living source tables
citation
Economic Policy Institute (Family Budget 2026) + U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (Regional Price Parities) + USDA ERS (Food Environment Atlas 2025).
schema
fields
| name | type | definition |
|---|---|---|
| budget_to_income_national_pctile | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentile rank of this county's budget-to-income ratio among all US counties nationally. Higher values indicate relatively greater affordability stress. |
| budget_to_income_ratio | float64 · share (0–1) | Ratio of the EPI two-parent, two-child annual family budget to county median household income. Values above 1.0 indicate the typical family budget exceeds median income; higher values signal greater affordability stress. |
| budget_to_income_state_pctile | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentile rank of this county's budget-to-income ratio among counties within the same state. Higher values indicate relatively greater affordability stress compared to in-state peers. |
| childcare_cost_index | float64 · index (national=100) | County childcare cost relative to the national average from the EPI Family Budget Calculator. Values above 100 indicate above-average childcare costs; values below 100 indicate below-average. |
| childcare_cost_national_pctile | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentile rank of this county's childcare cost index among all US counties nationally. Higher values indicate relatively higher childcare costs. |
| country_idkey | string | ISO alpha-2 country code (always 'US' for domestic tables).Part of primary key. |
| county_idkey | string | 5-character FIPS code identifying the county.Part of primary key. Joins dim.counties on county_id. |
| county_name | string | Human-readable county name corresponding to county_id. |
| epi_data_year | int64 | Calendar year of the EPI Family Budget Calculator data used to derive cost components and indices for this row. |
| family_budget_2parent_2child_annual | int64 · dollars (nominal) | Annual EPI family budget for a two-parent, two-child household covering housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, and other necessities. Higher values indicate a higher cost of living. |
| family_budget_national_pctile | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentile rank of this county's EPI family budget among all US counties nationally. Higher values indicate a relatively more expensive county. |
| family_budget_state_pctile | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentile rank of this county's EPI family budget among counties within the same state. Higher values indicate a relatively more expensive county within the state. |
| farmers_markets_per_1k_pop | float64 · rate per 1k | Number of USDA-registered farmers markets per 1,000 county residents. Higher values indicate greater availability of direct-to-consumer food venues. |
| food_cost_index | float64 · index (national=100) | County food cost relative to the national average from the EPI Family Budget Calculator. Values above 100 indicate above-average food costs; values below 100 indicate below-average. |
| food_cost_national_pctile | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentile rank of this county's food cost index among all US counties nationally. Higher values indicate relatively higher food costs. |
| food_desert_national_pctile | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentile rank of this county's food desert population share among all US counties nationally. Higher values indicate a relatively larger food-insecure or food-access-burdened population. |
| food_desert_pct_population | float64 · percent (0–100) | Share of the county population living in a USDA-defined food desert (low income and low access to a grocery store). Higher values indicate greater food access hardship. |
| food_desert_state_pctile | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentile rank of this county's food desert population share among counties within the same state. Higher values indicate a relatively larger food-access-burdened population within the state. |
| food_insecurity_rate | float64 · percent (0–100) | Estimated share of the county population experiencing food insecurity, from USDA or Feeding America estimates. Higher values indicate greater prevalence of insufficient food access. |
| grocery_stores_per_1k_pop | float64 · rate per 1k | Number of grocery stores per 1,000 county residents, derived from USDA food access data. Higher values indicate better geographic access to food retail. |
| healthcare_cost_index | float64 · index (national=100) | County healthcare cost relative to the national average from the EPI Family Budget Calculator. Values above 100 indicate above-average healthcare costs; values below 100 indicate below-average. |
| healthcare_cost_national_pctile | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentile rank of this county's healthcare cost index among all US counties nationally. Higher values indicate relatively higher healthcare costs. |
| housing_cost_index | float64 · index (national=100) | County housing cost relative to the national average from the EPI Family Budget Calculator. Values above 100 indicate above-average housing costs; values below 100 indicate below-average. |
| median_household_income | float64 · dollars (nominal) | Median household income for the county in nominal dollars, typically from ACS 5-year estimates. Higher values indicate greater typical household earnings. |
| real_median_income_index | float64 · index (national=100) | County median household income adjusted for local price levels (RPP) and indexed to the national median. Values above 100 indicate real purchasing power above the national median. |
| real_median_income_national_pctile | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentile rank of this county's real median income index among all US counties nationally. Higher values indicate relatively greater real purchasing power. |
| real_median_income_state_pctile | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentile rank of this county's real median income index among counties within the same state. Higher values indicate relatively greater real purchasing power within the state. |
| regional_price_parity_overall | float64 · index (national=100) | BEA Regional Price Parity for all goods and services. Values above 100 indicate prices are higher than the national average; values below 100 indicate lower-than-average prices. |
| rpp_geographic_basis | string | Geographic scope at which the BEA Regional Price Parity was estimated (e.g., 'MSA', 'state', 'county'). Indicates the resolution of the RPP figure applied to this county row. |
| snap_authorized_stores_per_1k_pop | float64 · rate per 1k | Number of SNAP-authorized food retail stores per 1,000 county residents. Higher values indicate broader access to SNAP redemption locations. |
| state_idkey | string | 2-character FIPS code identifying the state.Part of primary key. Joins dim.states on state_id. |
| transportation_cost_index | float64 · index (national=100) | County transportation cost relative to the national average from the EPI Family Budget Calculator. Values above 100 indicate above-average transportation costs; values below 100 indicate below-average. |
relationships
joins
primary key
county_id, state_id, country_id
common joins
dim.geographies on county_id
cost_of_living_family_budget_county_family_type on county_id
housing_cost_of_living_county_year on (county_id, year)
usage
how to use this table
method
Joins EPI family budget components (indexed to national=100), USDA food access metrics, BEA RPP, and a real-median-income index. Computes budget_to_income_ratio = total_budget / median_household_income.
do not use for
MIT Living Wage comparisons (not included); historical trends (snapshot).
known issues
MIT Living Wage metrics absent - not automatable per MIT terms of service.
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last updated · Jul 7, 2026