Cost of LivingCost of Living API

OnlineCredit Usage:1 per callRefreshed 1 week ago
avg: 500ms|p50: 467ms|p75: 522ms|p90: 588ms|p99: 720ms

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

URL
https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving

Code Examples

Here are examples of how to call the Cost of Living API in different programming languages:

cURL Request
curl -X GET \
  "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here"
JavaScript (Fetch API)
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);
Python (Requests)
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)
Node.js (Native HTTPS)
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 (cURL)
<?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);

?>
Go (net/http)
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))
}
Ruby (Net::HTTP)
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))
C# (HttpClient)
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:

Required Header
X-API-Key: your_api_key_here

Learn more about authentication →

Interactive 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

ParameterTypeRequiredDescriptionDefaultExample
locationstringoptional
State name, state code (e.g., CA, NY), or major city name. Omit for all regions ranked.
-California
comparestringoptional
Second location for salary comparison calculation
-Texas

Response

The Cost of Living API returns responses in JSON, XML, YAML, and CSV formats:

Example Responses

JSON Response
200 OK
{
  "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 Response
200 OK
<?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>
YAML Response
200 OK
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
CSV Response
200 OK
keyvalue
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:

FieldTypeDescriptionExample
statusstringIndicates whether the request was successful ("ok") or failed ("error")ok
errorstring | nullContains error message if status is "error", otherwise nullnull
dataobject | nullContains 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:

FieldTypeSample Value
fromobject{...}
â”” searchedLocationstring"California"
â”” regionstring"west-large"
â”” regionNamestring"West Large Metros (LA, SF, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver area)"
â”” costIndexnumber118
toobject{...}
â”” searchedLocationstring"Texas"
â”” regionstring"south-large"
â”” regionNamestring"South Large Metros (Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, DC area)"
â”” costIndexnumber103
comparisonobject{...}
â”” costDifferencenumber-12.7
â”” directionstring"less expensive"
â”” salaryEquivalentobject{...}
â”” descriptionstring"A $100,000 salary in California is equivalent to $87,288 in Texas"
â”” fromSalarynumber100000
â”” equivalentSalarynumber87288

Headers

Required and optional headers for Cost of Living API requests:

Header NameRequiredExample ValueDescription
X-API-Keyrequiredyour_api_key_hereYour APIVerve API key. Found in your dashboard under API Keys.
Acceptoptionalapplication/jsonSpecify response format: application/json (default), application/xml, or application/yaml
User-AgentoptionalMyApp/1.0Identifies your application for analytics and debugging purposes
X-Request-IDoptionalreq_123456789Custom request identifier for tracking and debugging requests
Cache-Controloptionalno-cacheControl caching behavior for the request and response

Learn more about request headers →

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.

Test Cost of Living in the GraphQL Explorer to confirm availability and experiment with queries.

Credit Cost: Each API called in your GraphQL query consumes its standard credit cost.

GraphQL Endpoint
POST https://api.apiverve.com/v1/graphql
GraphQL Query Example
query {
  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 HeaderValueDescription
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.

Learn more about CORS support →

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.

PlanRate LimitDescription
Free5 requests/minHard rate limit enforced - exceeding will return 429 errors
StarterNo LimitProduction ready - standard traffic priority
ProNo LimitProduction ready - preferred traffic priority
MegaNo LimitProduction 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:

HeaderDescription
X-RateLimit-LimitMaximum number of requests allowed per time window
X-RateLimit-RemainingNumber of requests remaining in the current window
X-RateLimit-ResetUnix 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:

CodeMessageDescriptionSolution
200OKRequest successful, data returnedNo action needed - request was successful
400Bad RequestInvalid request parameters or malformed requestCheck required parameters and ensure values match expected formats
401UnauthorizedMissing or invalid API keyInclude x-api-key header with valid API key from dashboard
403ForbiddenAPI key lacks permission or insufficient creditsCheck credit balance in dashboard or upgrade plan
429Too Many RequestsRate limit exceeded (Free: 5 req/min)Implement request throttling or upgrade to paid plan
500Internal Server ErrorServer error occurredRetry request after a few seconds, contact support if persists
503Service UnavailableAPI temporarily unavailableWait 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?
Sign up for a free account at dashboard.apiverve.com. Your API key will be automatically generated and available in your dashboard. The same key works for Cost of Living and all other APIVerve APIs. The free plan includes 1,000 credits plus a 500 credit bonus.
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?
Yes! The Cost of Living API supports CORS with wildcard configuration, so you can call it directly from browser-based JavaScript without needing a proxy server. See the CORS section above for details.
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.

What's Next?

Continue your journey with these recommended resources

Was this page helpful?