Costliest Cities

San Diego ranks sixth and the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is seventh on a list of the most expensive metropolitan areas during the third quarter of 1997. Top 10 cities with more than 1.5 million residents, ranked according to the total cost-of-living index, and indexes for groceries, housing, transportation and health care:

Rank: 1

Metropolitan area: New York (Manhattan)

All items*: 226.0

Groceries: 137.8

Housing: 445.3

Transportation: 122.3

Health care: 191.2

*

Rank: 2

Metropolitan area: Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y.

All items*: 144.4

Groceries: 121.9

Housing: 178.2

Transportation: 115.5

Health care: 164.2

*

Rank: 3

Metropolitan area: Boston

All items*: 138.5

Groceries: 110.2

Housing: 194.5

Transportation: 121.6

Health care: 135.8

*

Rank: 4

Metropolitan area: Philadelphia

All items*: 122.5

Groceries: 109.9

Housing: 140.0

Transportation: 119.2

Health care: 102.8

*

Rank: 5

Metropolitan area: Washington

All items*: 122.1

Groceries: 109.6

Housing: 151.8

Transportation: 124.9

Health care: 119.8

*

Rank: 6

Metropolitan area: San Diego

All items*: 119.9

Groceries: 112.1

Housing: 147.5

Transportation: 120.4

Health care: 122.2

*

Rank: 7

Metropolitan area: Los Angeles/Long Beach

All items*: 116.1

Groceries: 113.1

Housing: 131.9

Transportation: 107.4

Health care: 111.1

*

Rank: 8

Metropolitan area: Sacramento

All items*: 114.9

Groceries: 114.0

Housing: 109.4

Transportation: 113.3

Health care: 142.7

*

Rank: 9

Metropolitan area: Riverside/San Bernardino

All items*: 109.8

Groceries: 106.3

Housing: 106.6

Transportation: 107.5

Health care: 131.2

*

Rank: 10

Metropolitan area: Portland, Ore./Vancouver, Wash.

All items*: 106.8

Groceries: 103.4

Housing: 118.9

Transportation: 109.9

Health care: 121.8

*Average for 321 urban areas = 100

Sources: American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Assn., Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.