See How Far Your Money Goes In NYC Compared To The U.S. Average

NEW YORK – This news will not come as a shock. New Yorkers are paying more for goods and services than almost all other Americans, figures released by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis show.

The city is the seventh most expensive in the country for things like groceries, rent and services. Only Honolulu and a handful of Californian cities pay more.

The price parities are expressed as a percentage of the overall national price level. This means a metro area with a score of 120 sees prices that are 20 percent higher than the national average of 100. Similarly, a score of 90 means prices are 10 percent cheaper than the national average.

With a price parity score of 122.3, the New York City metro area, which includes Newark and Jersey City in this analysis, pays 22.3 percent more than the typical American city.

Here’s the breakdown of the local individual pricing scores:

• All items: 122.3
• Goods: 109.4
• Rent: 153.1
• Services (other): 117.7

An area’s rent is usually a good indicator of its regional price parity, the Commerce Department said. That is especially true at the top of the scale. The San Francisco metro area, which pays the second-highest price in the country for goods and services, pays nearly double in rent compared to the typical American. Overall, the most expensive areas are concentrated on the coasts, with California home to six of the 10 most expensive areas in the country.

Here are the top 10:

1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA —130.9
2. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA — 128
3. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA — 127.6
4. Urban Honolulu, HI — 124.7
5. Napa, CA — 123.6
6. Santa Rosa, CA — 123.5
7. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — 122.3
8. Vallejo-Fairfield, CA — 120
9. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT — 119.1
10. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, VA-DC — 118.4

On the flip side, less populated metros in the South and Midwest were usually cheaper than larger cities. This includes Beckley, West Virginia, and Danville, Illinois, where residents see their dollar go much further than the national average.

Beckley ranked as the metro with the cheapest prices, with residents paying 24.7 percent less for goods and services than the average American. Prices in Danville, ranked as the second-cheapest, were 21.1 percent less expensive.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.