Additional Geographic Assessor Topics (Listed Alphabetically) > Cost of Living Reports Background

Cost of Living Reports include two sub-tabs: Estimated Per Diems and City Reports.

"Per Diem" means a "per day" (for one person) allowance for short stays in international locations. For a comparison of per diem estimates in multiple cities, the Estimated Per Diems table allows for a detailed analysis of up to 50,000 locations at a time.

ERI per diem estimates are based upon published rates by the US Department of State, United Nations, GSA, IRS and other sources. Maximum Travel per diem allowances for international areas are published by the US Department of State and United Nations. Non-international locality rates are also available as established by the US Department of Defense for the following areas: Alaska, American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Johnston Atoll, Midway Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and Wake Islands.

•Lodging - Daily hotel/lodging rate consistent with published sources such as those noted above.

•Food/Other - Daily meals and incidental expenses consistent with published sources such as those noted above.

ERI per diem estimates are collected and stored in USD since they are the amounts paid by organizations that use the USD as a base currency. They are the amounts a US citizen traveling to US, Canada, or an international location would be allotted if they worked for one of the above mentioned organizations. Per Diems are calculated in USD and, therefore, exchange rates fluctuations between the USD and the local currency, as well as the changes in local supply and demand conditions for Lodging, Food/Other, are accounted for with monthly changes (averaged over the previous six weeks).

ERI Shortfall Analyses

•Lodging - ERI's recommended adjustment for a livable "Lodging" per diem. In areas where there is an "ERI Shortfall" value, ERI recommends that a realistic per diem is higher than the standard rates published by sources such as those noted above.

•Food/Other - ERI's recommended adjustment for a livable "Food/Other" per diem. In areas where there is an "ERI Shortfall" value, ERI recommends that a realistic per diem is higher than the standard rates published by sources such as those noted above.

To Select a Comparison City

See Browse Areas

To Add Multiple Cities to the Table

See Browse by Region

To Create a User Defined Average

See Create User Defined Average

To Import Areas to the Table

See Import Areas

To Create an Organization Profile

See My Organizations

To Change the Currency

See Currency

To Save the Table

See Save List

Note: When saving Estimated Per Diems, changes to the Options panel (e.g., currency) will not be automatically saved with the list. To save the Options associated with your saved list, click Save under List Settings. To use Options previously saved in association with your Estimated Per Diems, click Load under List Settings.