Most Expensive States to Live In

By Paul Toscano, CNBC.com

With the launch of CNBC's fifth annual edition of "America's Top States For Business ," we decided to take a look at the cost of a variety of items in the nation's ten most expensive states. In the CNBC study, states are ranked using a 50-point scale-the lower the score, the higher the cost of living, and vice versa. You won't get more for your money in these ten states.

More from CNBC:

States With the Highest Cost of Living
States With the Biggest Job Rate Declines
Full Coverage: America's Top States for Business 2011

Interestingly enough, some of the states with the highest cost of living also had some of the highest scores in the quality-of-life category, so maybe you do get what you pay for. That said, only one of the ten states in the slides ahead managed to rank among the top ten overall in this year's Top States for Business study. Cost of living may not be among the top criteria for a business, but it can be a big consideration for employees in the state.

To cover as much ground as possible, we included one item related to housing, transportation, health, food and entertainment. It includes the average cost of a single-family home, the best-selling cholesterol drug Lipitor, a movie theatre-ticket, a doctor's visit and a gallon of gasoline in the most expensive metropolitan areas of each of the ten states using data from the ACCRA Cost of Living Index. ACCRA's numbers reflect the average prices from Q1 2010 through Q1 2011.

So, which states have the highest cost of living?

1. Hawaii

Most expensive: Honolulu
House: $689,781
Movie ticket: $10.08
Lipitor: $160.96
Doctor visit: $130.15
Gallon of gas: $3.437












2. Alaska
Most expensive: Fairbanks
House: $438,225
Movie ticket: $10.69
Lipitor: $156.99
Doctor visit: $150.05
Gallon of gas: $3.478













3. California
Most expensive: San Francisco
House: $808,481
Movie ticket: $10.58
Lipitor: $145.98
Doctor visit: $120.83
Gallon of gas: $3.116














4. Connecticut
Most expensive: Stamford
House: $606,742
Movie ticket: $10.33
Lipitor: $154.61
Doctor visit: $102.26
Gallon of gas: $3.075












5. New Jersey
Most expensive: Bergen-Passaic
House: $511,212
Movie ticket: $10.58
Lipitor: $159.67
Doctor visit: $83.52
Gallon of gas: $2.758













See the full list of America's Most Expensive States to Live In