The Most Expensive States to Live In 2012

You won’t get more for your money in these ten states.

With the launch of CNBC's sixth annual edition of "America's Top States for Business," we decided to take a look at the cost of a variety of items in the nation's 10 most expensive states. In the CNBC study, states are ranked using a 50-point scale—the lower the score, the higher the cost of living, and vice versa.

Interestingly enough, some of the states with the highest cost of living also had some of the highest scores in the quality-of-life category, so maybe you do get what you pay for.

Nevertheless, only one of 10 ten states in the slides ahead managed to rank among the top 10 overall in this year’s Top States for Business. Cost of living may not be among the top criteria for a business, but it can be a big consideration for employees in the state.

To cover as much ground as possible, we included the average cost of one item related to housing, transportation, health, food and entertainment -- single-family home, movie-theatre ticket, residential rent, doctor’s visit, gallon of gasoline and even a T-bone steak -- in the most expensive metropolitan areas of each of the ten states. (Data are from the ACCRA Cost of Living Index, based on average prices from Q1 2011 - Q1 2012.

So, which states have the highest cost of living? Read on to find out!

Note: Though there is a high correlation with this basket of goods and the CNBC's cost-of-living rankings, the items and prices listed are not the same as those used in the ACCRA index.

Glowimages | Getty Images1. Hawaii

Most expensive metro area: Honolulu

House: $659,530
Movie ticket: $10.31
Rent: $2,658
Doctor visit: $129.13
Gallon of gas: $3.987
T-bone steak: $7.80

Jeff Greenberg | Photolibrary | Getty Images2. Alaska

Most expensive metro area: Juneau

House: $493,167
Movie ticket: $10.50
Rent: $1,437
Doctor visit: $156.42
Gallon of gas: $3.941
T-bone steak: $10.64

Noroton | Wikipedia3. Connecticut

Most expensive metro area: Stamford

House: $568,945
Movie ticket: $10.38
Rent: $1,993
Doctor visit: $116.74
Gallon of gas: $3.845
T-bone steak: $10.82

Gavin Hellier | Photographer's Choice | Getty Images4. New York

Most expensive metro area: New York (Manhattan)

House: $1,215,129
Movie ticket: $13.06
Rent: $3,378
Doctor visit: $140.40
Gallon of gas: $3.884
T-bone steak: $14.25

Travelpix Ltd | Photographer's Choice | Getty Images5. California

Most expensive metro area: San Francisco

House: $799,988
Movie ticket: $10.81
Rent: $2,524
Doctor visit: $121.27
Gallon of gas: $3.741
T-bone steak: $10.25

Click here for the full list of Most Expensive States to Live in 2012.

More from CNBC:

• States With the Best Quality of Life
• America’s Top States for Business 2012
• Homes of Governors