Cost of Living API
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.
The Cost of Living API provides reliable and fast access to cost of living data through a simple REST interface. Built for developers who need consistent, high-quality results with minimal setup time.
To use Cost of Living, you need an API key. You can get one by creating a free account and visiting your dashboard.
GET Endpoint
https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costlivingCode Examples
Here are examples of how to call the Cost of Living API in different programming languages:
curl -X GET \
"https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving" \
-H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here"const response = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving', {
method: 'GET',
headers: {
'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}
});
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);import requests
headers = {
'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}
response = requests.get('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving', headers=headers)
data = response.json()
print(data)const https = require('https');
const url = require('url');
const options = {
method: 'GET',
headers: {
'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}
};
const req = https.request('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving', options, (res) => {
let data = '';
res.on('data', (chunk) => data += chunk);
res.on('end', () => console.log(JSON.parse(data)));
});
req.end();<?php
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST, 'GET');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, [
'X-API-Key: your_api_key_here',
'Content-Type: application/json'
]);
$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);
$data = json_decode($response, true);
print_r($data);
?>package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
)
func main() {
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving", nil)
req.Header.Set("X-API-Key", "your_api_key_here")
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
client := &http.Client{}
resp, err := client.Do(req)
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require 'net/http'
require 'json'
uri = URI('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving')
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true
request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
request['X-API-Key'] = 'your_api_key_here'
request['Content-Type'] = 'application/json'
response = http.request(request)
puts JSON.pretty_generate(JSON.parse(response.body))using System;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
class Program
{
static async Task Main(string[] args)
{
using var client = new HttpClient();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("X-API-Key", "your_api_key_here");
var response = await client.GetAsync("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving");
response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
var responseBody = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
Console.WriteLine(responseBody);
}
}Authentication
The Cost of Living API requires authentication via API key. Include your API key in the request header:
X-API-Key: your_api_key_hereInteractive API Playground
Test the Cost of Living API directly in your browser with live requests and responses.
Parameters
The following parameters are available for the Cost of Living API:
Get Cost of Living
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | Default | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
location | string | optional | State name, state code (e.g., CA, NY), or major city name. Omit for all regions ranked. | - | |
compare | string | optional | Second location for salary comparison calculation | - |
Response
The Cost of Living API returns responses in JSON, XML, YAML, and CSV formats:
Example Responses
{
"status": "ok",
"error": null,
"data": {
"from": {
"searchedLocation": "California",
"region": "west-large",
"regionName": "West Large Metros (LA, SF, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver area)",
"costIndex": 118
},
"to": {
"searchedLocation": "Texas",
"region": "south-large",
"regionName": "South Large Metros (Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, DC area)",
"costIndex": 103
},
"comparison": {
"costDifference": -12.7,
"direction": "less expensive",
"salaryEquivalent": {
"description": "A $100,000 salary in California is equivalent to $87,288 in Texas",
"fromSalary": 100000,
"equivalentSalary": 87288
}
}
}
}<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<response>
<status>ok</status>
<error xsi:nil="true" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"/>
<data>
<from>
<searchedLocation>California</searchedLocation>
<region>west-large</region>
<regionName>West Large Metros (LA, SF, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver area)</regionName>
<costIndex>118</costIndex>
</from>
<to>
<searchedLocation>Texas</searchedLocation>
<region>south-large</region>
<regionName>South Large Metros (Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, DC area)</regionName>
<costIndex>103</costIndex>
</to>
<comparison>
<costDifference>-12.7</costDifference>
<direction>less expensive</direction>
<salaryEquivalent>
<description>A $100,000 salary in California is equivalent to $87,288 in Texas</description>
<fromSalary>100000</fromSalary>
<equivalentSalary>87288</equivalentSalary>
</salaryEquivalent>
</comparison>
</data>
</response>
status: ok
error: null
data:
from:
searchedLocation: California
region: west-large
regionName: West Large Metros (LA, SF, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver area)
costIndex: 118
to:
searchedLocation: Texas
region: south-large
regionName: South Large Metros (Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, DC area)
costIndex: 103
comparison:
costDifference: -12.7
direction: less expensive
salaryEquivalent:
description: A $100,000 salary in California is equivalent to $87,288 in Texas
fromSalary: 100000
equivalentSalary: 87288
| key | value |
|---|---|
| from | {searchedLocation:California,region:west-large,regionName:West Large Metros (LA, SF, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver area),costIndex:118} |
| to | {searchedLocation:Texas,region:south-large,regionName:South Large Metros (Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, DC area),costIndex:103} |
| comparison | {costDifference:-12.7,direction:less expensive,salaryEquivalent:{description:A $100,000 salary in California is equivalent to $87,288 in Texas,fromSalary:100000,equivalentSalary:87288}} |
Response Structure
All API responses follow a consistent structure with the following fields:
| Field | Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
status | string | Indicates whether the request was successful ("ok") or failed ("error") | ok |
error | string | null | Contains error message if status is "error", otherwise null | null |
data | object | null | Contains the API response data if successful, otherwise null | {...} |
Learn more about response formats →
Response Data Fields
When the request is successful, the data object contains the following fields:
| Field | Type | Sample Value |
|---|---|---|
from | object | |
â”” searchedLocation | string | |
â”” region | string | |
â”” regionName | string | |
â”” costIndex | number | |
to | object | |
â”” searchedLocation | string | |
â”” region | string | |
â”” regionName | string | |
â”” costIndex | number | |
comparison | object | |
â”” costDifference | number | |
â”” direction | string | |
â”” salaryEquivalent | object | |
â”” description | string | |
â”” fromSalary | number | |
â”” equivalentSalary | number |
Headers
Required and optional headers for Cost of Living API requests:
| Header Name | Required | Example Value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
X-API-Key | required | your_api_key_here | Your APIVerve API key. Found in your dashboard under API Keys. |
Accept | optional | application/json | Specify response format: application/json (default), application/xml, or application/yaml |
User-Agent | optional | MyApp/1.0 | Identifies your application for analytics and debugging purposes |
X-Request-ID | optional | req_123456789 | Custom request identifier for tracking and debugging requests |
Cache-Control | optional | no-cache | Control caching behavior for the request and response |
GraphQL AccessALPHA
Access Cost of Living through GraphQL to combine it with other API calls in a single request. Query only the cost of living data you need with precise field selection, and orchestrate complex data fetching workflows.
Credit Cost: Each API called in your GraphQL query consumes its standard credit cost.
POST https://api.apiverve.com/v1/graphqlquery {
costliving(
input: {
location: "California"
compare: "Texas"
}
) {
from {
searchedLocation
region
regionName
costIndex
}
to {
searchedLocation
region
regionName
costIndex
}
comparison {
costDifference
direction
salaryEquivalent {
description
fromSalary
equivalentSalary
}
}
}
}Note: Authentication is handled via the x-api-key header in your GraphQL request, not as a query parameter.
CORS Support
The Cost of Living API supports Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) with wildcard configuration, allowing you to call Cost of Living directly from browser-based applications without proxy servers.
| CORS Header | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
Access-Control-Allow-Origin | * | Accepts requests from any origin |
Access-Control-Allow-Methods | * | Accepts any HTTP method |
Access-Control-Allow-Headers | * | Accepts any request headers |
Browser Usage: You can call Cost of Living directly from JavaScript running in the browser without encountering CORS errors. No proxy server or additional configuration needed.
Rate Limiting
Cost of Living API requests are subject to rate limiting based on your subscription plan. These limits ensure fair usage and maintain service quality for all Cost of Living users.
| Plan | Rate Limit | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 5 requests/min | Hard rate limit enforced - exceeding will return 429 errors |
| Starter | No Limit | Production ready - standard traffic priority |
| Pro | No Limit | Production ready - preferred traffic priority |
| Mega | No Limit | Production ready - highest traffic priority |
Learn more about rate limiting →
Rate Limit Headers
When rate limits apply, each Cost of Living response includes headers to help you track your usage:
| Header | Description |
|---|---|
X-RateLimit-Limit | Maximum number of requests allowed per time window |
X-RateLimit-Remaining | Number of requests remaining in the current window |
X-RateLimit-Reset | Unix timestamp when the rate limit window resets |
Handling Rate Limits
Free Plan: When you exceed your rate limit, Cost of Living returns a 429 Too Many Requests status code. Your application should implement appropriate backoff logic to handle this gracefully.
Paid Plans: No rate limiting or throttling applied. All paid plans (Starter, Pro, Mega) are production-ready.
Best Practices for Cost of Living:
- Monitor the rate limit headers to track your Cost of Living usage (Free plan only)
- Cache cost of living responses where appropriate to reduce API calls
- Upgrade to Pro or Mega for guaranteed no-throttle Cost of Living performance
Note: Cost of Living rate limits are separate from credit consumption. You may have credits remaining but still hit rate limits when using Cost of Living on Free tier.
Error Codes
The Cost of Living API uses standard HTTP status codes to indicate success or failure:
| Code | Message | Description | Solution |
|---|---|---|---|
200 | OK | Request successful, data returned | No action needed - request was successful |
400 | Bad Request | Invalid request parameters or malformed request | Check required parameters and ensure values match expected formats |
401 | Unauthorized | Missing or invalid API key | Include x-api-key header with valid API key from dashboard |
403 | Forbidden | API key lacks permission or insufficient credits | Check credit balance in dashboard or upgrade plan |
429 | Too Many Requests | Rate limit exceeded (Free: 5 req/min) | Implement request throttling or upgrade to paid plan |
500 | Internal Server Error | Server error occurred | Retry request after a few seconds, contact support if persists |
503 | Service Unavailable | API temporarily unavailable | Wait and retry, check status page for maintenance updates |
Learn more about error handling →
Need help? Contact support with your X-Request-ID for assistance.
Integrate Cost of Living with SDKs
Get started quickly with official Cost of Living SDKs for your preferred language. Each library handles authentication, request formatting, and error handling automatically.
Available for Node.js, Python, C#/.NET, and Android/Java. All SDKs are open source and regularly updated.
Integrate Cost of Living with No-Code API Tools
Connect the Cost of Living API to your favorite automation platform without writing code. Build workflows that leverage cost of living data across thousands of apps.





All platforms use your same API key to access Cost of Living. Visit our integrations hub for step-by-step setup guides.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get an API key for Cost of Living?
How many credits does Cost of Living cost?
Each successful Cost of Living API call consumes credits based on plan tier. Check the pricing section above for the exact credit cost. Failed requests and errors don't consume credits, so you only pay for successful cost of living lookups.
Can I use Cost of Living in production?
The free plan is for testing and development only. For production use of Cost of Living, upgrade to a paid plan (Starter, Pro, or Mega) which includes commercial use rights, no attribution requirements, and guaranteed uptime SLAs. All paid plans are production-ready.
Can I use Cost of Living from a browser?
What happens if I exceed my Cost of Living credit limit?
When you reach your monthly credit limit, Cost of Living API requests will return an error until you upgrade your plan or wait for the next billing cycle. You'll receive notifications at 80% and 95% usage to give you time to upgrade if needed.



