2012's Top 10 Expensive U.S. Cities

Moneywatch.com: 2012's Top 10 Most Expensive U.S. Cities

Despite improved unemployment numbers, times are still tough for most Main Street Americans. Gas prices are high, making travel, groceries and nearly everything else more expensive.

Depending on where you live, you may pay even more than most people. Consumers generally pay more for everything in a big city than they do in a small town.

According to ACCRA's latest Cost of Living Index (COLI), these urban areas are the most expensive in the nation based on cost of housing, utilities, grocery items, health care and miscellaneous goods and services.
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2012's Top 10 Ex... Despite improved unemployment numbers, times are still tough for most Main Street Americans. Gas prices are high, making travel, groceries and nearly everything else more expensive.

Depending on where you live, you may pay even more than most people. Consumers generally pay more for everything in a big city than they do in a small town.

According to ACCRA's latest Cost of Living Index (COLI), these urban areas are the most expensive in the nation based on cost of housing, utilities, grocery items, health care and miscellaneous goods and services.
(iStock Photo)

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10. Orange Count... Nearly 30 percent of California homeowners are underwater according to CoreLogic's latest negative equity data, but four of the top 10 most expensive urban areas in the U.S. are in the Golden State.

Orange County encompasses 34 incorporated cities, including Laguna Beach, Anaheim and Mission Viejo. According to Redfin.com, the median sale price of a home in Orange County was $375,000 in February 2012, down 6.2 percent from the previous year.
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9. Washington, D... Not surprisingly, our nation's capital is one of the most expensive places to live. But it's not immune to the mortgage crisis -- more than 12 percent of homeowners are underwater.

On average, homes in Washington, D.C. sold for $392,000 according to Redfin.com. That's up more than 15 percent from one year ago.
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8. Truckee-Nevad... Truckee, Calif. is located within Nevada County, the eighth most expensive urban area according to COLI data. It's the second of four California locations on this list, and the most populous city in Nevada County.

The median home sale price in Truckee was down 9.6 percent year-over-year in February, to $339,000.
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7. Stamford, Con... According to 2010 census data, Connecticut has the highest per capita income at just over $56,000. Even so, more than 13 percent of mortgages in the state are underwater.

Stamford, the city at number seven on this list, saw median home sale prices fall 18 percent year-over-year in February, to $348,500.
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6. San Jose, Cal... As we've already discussed, California's had it rough. San Jose is no different than other California cities, and it has seen the number of home sales fall more than 24 percent year-over-year.

Median home sale prices have fallen since last year, too, though not as drastically as home sales. Prices fell 2.4 percent to $371,000.
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5. Queens, N.Y. The state of New York has not escaped the housing crisis, though it's done better than the other states on this list. Just over six percent of mortgages are in negative equity.

Queens is the second-largest borough, by population, in New York City and is the fifth most expensive urban area. Even so, people are eager to live here: The area has seen median home sale prices increase more than 53 percent to $524,299.
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4. San Francisco... San Francisco is the last, and most expensive, of the California cities on this list. In fact, the average list price for a home is more than $1.2 million.

The median sale price is lower at $601,500, up 1.9 percent year-over-year. That's hardly a bargain, but substantially lower than the average list price.
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3. Honolulu, Haw... It wasn't just the mainland that was affected by the mortgage crisis -- Hawaii felt the pain, too. Currently, 10.5 percent of all mortgages in the state are in negative equity.

According to Zillow.com, median home sale prices in Honolulu fell 2.1 percent year-over-year to $426,000. That's less than the median asking price, which rose more than seven percent to $469,000.
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2. Brookyln, N.Y... Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, and it's the second-most expensive. Even so, average home sale prices are lower than in Queens. The median price of a home in Brooklyn is $512,012, up 0.8 percent from one year ago. The number of sales is also up, rising more than 2 percent year-over-year.
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1. Manhattan, N.... No surprise here: Manhattan is the most expensive urban area in the United States. It's also the most densely populated and considered a financial hub, both factors which contribute to its high home values.

The average home in Manhattan sold for more than $1 million, relatively unchanged from one year ago. That's a lot of money, but when you consider the median asking price for a home is nearly $2 million it is actually quite a discount.
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