Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn are three of the most expensive places to live in US

Along with Manhattan and Brooklyn, Queens now joins the ranks of the top ten most expensive places to live in the US.  NYU’s Washington Square News reports that according to the Council for Community and Economic Research’s Cost of Living Index (2nd quarter of 2012), Queens has the sixth highest cost of living index at 151.4 (100 is the average); Manhattan and Brooklyn are 1 and 2, respectively.The number was determined by the cost of six different elements – groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, health care and miscellaneous (this includes clothing and entertainment).

Part of the reason Queens has such a high COLI (cost of living index) number is because of the real estate market. There is a lot of new housing construction going on in Queens, especially evident in the high rise and luxury buildings of Long Island City, infill buildings in Astoria, and even luxury buildings in places cropping up in traditionally immigrant neighborhoods, like Rego Park’s Contour.

New report shows Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens as most expensive [Washington Square News]
COLI Release Highlights, Second Quarter 2012 [Council for Community and Economic Research]