[jfim]

It depends what you include in cost of living. Healthcare and education tend to be more expensive than other first world countries, and the taxes are high given the fact that healthcare and education aren't part of what one gets from paying taxes.

[trimethylpurine]

Depends which state. I pay less for healthcare in the US than my friends in Europe when we break down the tax costs and private supplemental care that's necessary in Europe.

In fact, I pay their private health care costs myself because I don't want to wait a year for them to get shoulder surgery in the "free" health care system that's clearly not free.