HCOL
Business & Finance abbreviation · Personal Finance
| Stands for | High cost of living |
|---|---|
| Categories | Business & Finance |
HCOL stands for High cost of living, a personal finance abbreviation.
Label for cities and regions where housing and everyday expenses are far above the national average, such as San Francisco, New York and Boston. It frames salary, budgeting and savings advice, since the same income stretches much less in such places.
Example: A $120,000 salary sounds great until you remember it's an HCOL city with $3,500 rents.
Usage notes
Personal finance forums grade locations on a scale: LCOL (low), MCOL (medium), HCOL and VHCOL (very high cost of living). Employers sometimes use similar tiers for geographic pay differentials.
Related abbreviations
More personal finance abbreviations
- FERS – Federal Employees Retirement System
- FHSA – First Home Savings Account
- FICO – Fair Isaac Corporation credit score
- FIRE – Financial independence, retire early
- FRA – Full retirement age
- FSA – Flexible spending account
- HSA – Health savings account
- HYSA – High-yield savings account
- IBR – Income-Based Repayment
- IDR – Income-driven repayment
- IRA – Individual retirement account
- ISA – Individual Savings Account