Cost of Living

Overview

Cost of Living uses regional Consumer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to calculate relative cost indices. The national average is set to 100, so an index of 120 means 20% more expensive than average. Data is aggregated by Census region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) for large metro areas.

Endpoint

One host, one path per API. The block below shows this call in four languages; every one of them is the same HTTP request. Making requests covers the timeouts, retries and parameter rules that apply to all of them. The SDKs wrap the same call in a typed client.

curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving?location=California" \
  -H "x-api-key: your_api_key_here"

const res = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving?location=California', {
  headers: { 'x-api-key': 'your_api_key_here' },
});

if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);

const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);

import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving?location=California",
    headers={"x-api-key": "your_api_key_here"},
    timeout=15,
)
res.raise_for_status()

print(res.json()["data"])

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
)

func main() {
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/costliving?location=California", nil)
	req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "your_api_key_here")

	res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()

	out, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(out))
}

Replace your_api_key_here with the key from your dashboard. When the inputs arrive as a list rather than one at a time, batch requests run up to 200 of them through this same API in a single call.

Authentication

Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — there is no token exchange and no per-endpoint scope to configure. Authentication covers creating, rotating and revoking keys.

Parameters

Sent in the query string. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

Response

Every API returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape. Response format covers the envelope, the other output formats and how premium fields are withheld.

{
  "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
      }
    }
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Errors

Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change. Error handling covers the full status list and which of them are worth retrying.

Use cases

Relocation Planning

Compare cost of living when considering job offers in different states or cities

Salary Negotiations

Calculate salary equivalents across different regions

Business Location

Factor cost of living into business location and expansion decisions

HR Planning

Set location-adjusted compensation for remote or distributed teams

Other ways to use Cost of Living

Set up Cost of Living on APIVerve, or reach the same source a different way. Your APIVerve account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

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