This ranks how fast costs are rising in each state, not how high they are. The pressure score is the mean percentile of year-over-year change across three inputs: residential electricity (EIA), latest July 2026; residential natural gas (EIA), latest July 2026 (December 2025 for Florida; April 2026 for Louisiana, the newest figure published for those states); home prices (FHFA), latest 2026 Q2. Gasoline (AAA) is shown at the latest price but not scored yet: the state series is too new for a year-over-year change. 100 is the fastest-rising costs in the country, 0 the slowest. Each input except home prices shows its level next to its change, so a state can be low on change and high on level at once; the FHFA home price index equals 100 in 1980 Q1 in every state, so only its change compares across states. Labor stress (the BLS state unemployment rate and its change in percentage points) is shown separately and is not part of the score. Most pressure: Hawaii (98), Michigan (87), New York (83). Least: New Mexico (15), Nevada (19), Arizona (19).
| Pressure | State | Electricity ¢/kWh | Electricity YoY (July 2026) | Natural gas $/mcf | Natural gas YoY (July 2026) | Gasoline $/gal (October 2026) | Gasoline YoY | Home prices YoY (FHFA, 2026 Q2) | Unemployment % | Unemployment, change (pp) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98 | Hawaii | 48 | +23.1% | 65.72 | +14.6% | 5.66 | — | +8.7% | 2.8 | +0.7pp |
| 87 | Michigan | 23.1 | +12.1% | 19.88 | +22.1% | 4.77 | — | +4.6% | 5 | +0.1pp |
| 83 | New York | 29.9 | +14.2% | 30.86 | +7.0% | 4.4 | — | +5.3% | 4.3 | -0.3pp |
| 82 | New Hampshire | 26.6 | +16.9% | 21.67 | +9.2% | 4.22 | — | +4.0% | 2.6 | -0.6pp |
| 73 | West Virginia | 15.8 | +2.5% | 24.68 | +26.3% | 4.23 | — | +8.0% | 4 | -0.5pp |
| 73 | Wisconsin | 19.1 | +4.9% | 18.58 | +11.0% | 4.33 | — | +5.6% | 3.2 | +0.1pp |
| 69 | Delaware | 18.5 | +11.3% | 33.41 | +5.1% | 3.98 | — | +4.0% | 4.6 | -0.6pp |
| 69 | Nebraska | 13.8 | +10.1% | 24.69 | +11.9% | 4.34 | — | +3.2% | 2.9 | 0.0pp |
| 69 | Ohio | 19.5 | +12.2% | 22.83 | +3.0% | 4.37 | — | +4.3% | 3.4 | -0.9pp |
| 69 | Pennsylvania | 21.7 | +11.3% | 28.73 | +3.6% | 4.47 | — | +4.7% | 3.6 | -0.8pp |
| 67 | Vermont | 23.8 | +8.2% | 32.73 | +5.2% | 4.36 | — | +4.3% | 2.6 | 0.0pp |
| 66 | Kentucky | 13.8 | +5.7% | 36.74 | +6.0% | 4.04 | — | +4.7% | 4.7 | +0.2pp |
| 64 | North Carolina | 15.2 | +13.6% | 34.09 | +8.3% | 3.53 | — | +2.4% | 3.4 | -0.5pp |
| 63 | Illinois | 19.2 | +11.8% | 21.04 | -7.6% | 4.81 | — | +6.0% | 4.6 | +0.1pp |
| 63 | South Carolina | 15.5 | +4.2% | 29.9 | +13.7% | 3.83 | — | +3.8% | 4 | -0.7pp |
| 63 | Virginia | 17.6 | +11.2% | 29.83 | +4.9% | 4.09 | — | +3.8% | 3.6 | +0.2pp |
| 59 | Connecticut | 24.2 | -12.3% | 23.33 | +10.7% | 4.31 | — | +5.7% | 5.1 | +0.9pp |
| 59 | North Dakota | 13.4 | +0.8% | 27.68 | +10.4% | 4.13 | — | +4.7% | 2.2 | -0.4pp |
| 57 | District of Columbia | 25.2 | +9.5% | 31.62 | +22.7% | 4.35 | — | -0.6% | 5.6 | -1.0pp |
| 56 | Indiana | 16.7 | +5.0% | 24.12 | +3.9% | 3.98 | — | +4.6% | 3.4 | -0.3pp |
| 54 | Missouri | 16.1 | +4.5% | 32 | +8.0% | 3.95 | — | +3.6% | 3.6 | -0.3pp |
| 52 | Idaho | 13.7 | +11.8% | 13.29 | +1.4% | 4.72 | — | +2.9% | 3.6 | 0.0pp |
| 52 | Mississippi | 14.5 | +7.1% | 30.6 | +1.8% | 3.86 | — | +3.7% | 3.3 | -0.4pp |
| 51 | Maine | 32.4 | +16.3% | 40.85 | -9.9% | 4.31 | — | +3.2% | 3.3 | 0.0pp |
| 51 | Rhode Island | 28.3 | +8.0% | 17.33 | -14.7% | 4.17 | — | +5.0% | 3.6 | -0.7pp |
| 48 | Oklahoma | 14.4 | +5.4% | 39.23 | +5.9% | 3.95 | — | +2.8% | 4.2 | +0.6pp |
| 47 | New Jersey | 25.2 | +0.3% | 18.76 | +2.0% | 4.19 | — | +5.5% | 4.2 | -1.3pp |
| 46 | Alaska | 28.8 | +5.4% | 17.49 | -1.5% | 4.87 | — | +3.9% | 4.3 | -0.4pp |
| 46 | Kansas | 15.3 | +6.4% | 25.12 | -4.3% | 3.96 | — | +3.8% | 3.8 | 0.0pp |
| 44 | Georgia | 16.3 | +4.5% | 43.28 | +8.6% | 3.69 | — | +1.9% | 3.3 | -0.1pp |
| 44 | Massachusetts | 30.5 | +1.6% | 30.57 | +8.0% | 4.23 | — | +3.2% | 4.3 | -0.3pp |
| 43 | Louisiana | 12.7 | -2.2% | 25.19 | +12.2% (April 2026) | 3.82 | — | +2.9% | 4 | -0.2pp |
| 43 | Maryland | 21.4 | +13.3% | 24.22 | -6.5% | 4.04 | — | +2.2% | 3.9 | -0.4pp |
| 41 | Iowa | 16 | +5.1% | 23.93 | +0.3% | 4.18 | — | +3.2% | 3.2 | -0.2pp |
| 41 | Wyoming | 14.4 | -1.7% | 28.22 | +7.0% | 4.43 | — | +3.7% | 3 | -0.4pp |
| 38 | Alabama | 16.4 | +3.0% | 25.16 | +0.6% | 3.85 | — | +3.7% | 3.5 | +0.7pp |
| 37 | Arkansas | 14.3 | +7.7% | 30.26 | -10.0% | 3.87 | — | +3.1% | 3.9 | -0.3pp |
| 37 | Texas | 15.9 | +3.9% | 34.3 | +7.2% | 3.75 | — | +1.6% | 4.4 | +0.1pp |
| 36 | Colorado | 17 | +7.3% | 17.56 | +2.0% | 4.28 | — | +0.2% | 4.1 | +0.3pp |
| 35 | Washington | 14.7 | +9.2% | 25.72 | +0.0% | 5.33 | — | +1.1% | 4.8 | +0.1pp |
| 32 | Minnesota | 17.5 | +3.3% | 17.28 | -0.2% | 4.21 | — | +3.0% | 4.5 | +0.4pp |
| 30 | Montana | 15 | +5.0% | 12.4 | -7.5% | 4.43 | — | +2.7% | 3.1 | -0.4pp |
| 29 | Florida | 15 | -0.1% | 23.62 | +7.6% (December 2025) | 4.13 | — | +1.4% | 4.4 | +0.2pp |
| 28 | South Dakota | 15.4 | +6.4% | 17.77 | -9.3% | 4.23 | — | +2.2% | 2 | -0.1pp |
| 28 | Utah | 13.1 | -2.1% | 12.38 | +4.1% | 4.7 | — | +2.6% | 3.5 | -0.1pp |
| 27 | Tennessee | 13.7 | +3.2% | 20.35 | -3.6% | 3.84 | — | +2.6% | 3.4 | -0.1pp |
| 26 | California | 33.6 | +6.0% | 21.35 | -3.7% | 6.06 | — | +0.9% | 5.1 | -0.4pp |
| 21 | Oregon | 16 | +1.8% | 23.23 | +0.4% | 4.89 | — | +1.7% | 5 | -0.3pp |
| 19 | Arizona | 15.4 | +0.9% | 26.31 | +1.8% | 4.54 | — | +0.9% | 4.9 | +0.5pp |
| 19 | Nevada | 12.8 | +3.0% | 15.47 | -8.6% | 5.32 | — | +2.5% | 4.7 | -0.5pp |
| 15 | New Mexico | 16.1 | +3.1% | 13.21 | -16.5% | 4.27 | — | +2.1% | 4.7 | +0.5pp |
This is a cost-pressure score, not a state inflation rate: the BLS publishes no state-level CPI, and a handful of costs is not a consumption-weighted basket, so quote it as cost pressure, not as a state's inflation. EIA, AAA, FHFA and BLS state data, refreshed monthly-to-daily — faster than the quarterly rankings press usually cite. City level: the 50-metro rent and home-price ranking; national: the current US inflation rate.