The Five Most Expensive Places to Live in America 24.98K Brian Moylan 09/28/10 03:54PM Filed to: Statistics Statistics Real Estate New York Rent Apartments San Diego Los Angeles San Francisco San Jose Fb tweet According to new Census Bureau data, rent in the San Jose area is the most expensive in the country followed by the San Francisco, D.C., San Diego, and L.A. areas. That means New Yorkers must officially stop bitching about rent.