The Council for Community and Economic Research recently released its review of annual Cost of Living Index (COLI) averages for 2024 - measuring the cost of a variety of goods and services for professional and managerial-class households in cities around the nation, including the Abilene Metropolitan Area, as compared to the national average.
According to the report, Abilene's overall cost of living declined slightly relative to the national average - which is pegged at 100 - with Abilene's composite index rating falling from 91.4 in 2023 to 90.6 in 2024.
The city with the year's highest overall cost of living was New York (Manhattan), with a composite index of 230.6; while the least expensive city in the nation was Decatur, Illinois - rated at 79.1.
Abilene's overall cost of living has been lower than the national average each year that it has participated in the survey, which began in 2007. Abilene's highest recorded composite index rating was 94.6 in 2018, while its lowest was 87.1 in 2009.
Not all categories of goods and services are less expensive in Abilene, however. Abilene's COLI rating for utilities increased to 109.5 in 2024, up from 103.3 in 2023 - compared to the national average of 100. Abilene's annual COLI rating for utilities has been higher than the national average every year since 2018.
Conversely, the cost of housing in Abilene has been consistently lower than the national average - with a 2024 rating of 75.4, down from 82.7 in 2023. For comparison, in 2024, the urban area with the nation's most expensive housing was the New York-Jersey City-White Plains NY-NJ Metro Division, rated at 500.6; while Decatur, Illinois again had the lowest rating, at 50.9.
The remainder of the categories in the report showed small increases for Abilene from 2023 to 2024: groceries rose from 94.5 to 95.8, transportation increased from 94.1 to 95.5, health care increased from 93.2 to 96.0, and miscellaneous goods and services rose from 93.0 to 94.3.
For more data about Abilene’s economic indicators, including a Cost of Living Index calculator, visit the Abilene Regional Growth Alliance website at growabilene.com.