GET/v1/prices/us/metro-areas/{area_code}

Get the full cost-of-living breakdown for a specific US metro area

Return a detailed cost-of-living profile for a single US metropolitan area, including BEA Regional Price Parities (overall, goods, services, rents) and a list of individual item prices from BLS average price surveys (eggs, bread, gasoline, etc.). **Path parameter:** `area_code` is a BLS-style metro identifier. Discover valid codes with `GET /v1/prices/us/metro-areas`. Examples: `METRO35620` (New York), `METRO31080` (Los Angeles). **Response shape:** a `MetroAreaDetail` with metadata, four RPP breakdowns (`overall`, `goods`, `services`, `rents`) where 100 = US average, and an `items` list where each entry has a BLS item code, description, latest price, and observation date. **When to use vs `/v1/cost-breakdown`:** this endpoint returns raw BLS/BEA data for a US metro. For a semantic cost breakdown that compares any country or city against a baseline, use `GET /v1/cost-breakdown`. Source: BLS CPI average price surveys, BEA Regional Price Parities. Required scope: `costapi:read`.

Authentication

Requires API key via X-API-Key header.

Parameters

Name	In	Type	Required	Description
area_code	path	string	required	BLS/BEA metro area code, e.g. METRO35620 (New York)

Example request

curl

curl -X GET \
  "https://col.wageapi.com/api/v1/prices/us/metro-areas/%3Carea_code%3E" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Responses

200Successful Response

dataMetroAreaDetailrequired

area_codestringrequired

area_namestringrequired

area_typestringrequired

rpp_overallanyoptional

one of:

option 1:

number

option 2:

null

rpp_goodsanyoptional

one of:

option 1:

number

option 2:

null

rpp_servicesanyoptional

one of:

option 1:

number

option 2:

null

rpp_rentsanyoptional

one of:

option 1:

number

option 2:

null

latest_yearanyoptional

one of:

option 1:

integer

option 2:

null

itemsarray<ItemPriceSchema>optional

array of ItemPriceSchema

item_codestringrequired

item_nameanyoptional

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

periodstring (date)required

priceanyoptional

one of:

option 1:

number

option 2:

null

currencystringoptional

default "USD"

metadataMetadataSchemarequired

sourcesarray<SourceSchema>optional

array of SourceSchema

namestringrequired

Data source name (e.g., 'BLS', 'OECD', 'Eurostat')

datasetstringrequired

Specific dataset identifier

urlanyoptional

URL to the source dataset

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

last_updatedanyoptional

When this data was last refreshed

one of:

option 1:

string (date-time)

option 2:

null

request_idstringrequired

Unique request identifier

rate_limitanyoptional

one of:

option 1:

remainingintegerrequired

Remaining requests today

daily_limitintegerrequired

Total daily request limit

reset_atstring (date-time)required

When the rate limit resets

option 2:

null

paginationanyoptional

one of:

option 1:

pageintegerrequired

page_sizeintegerrequired

totalintegerrequired

total_pagesintegerrequired

option 2:

null

data_vintageanyoptional

Data freshness (e.g., 'CPI data from February 2026')

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

methodology_notesanyoptional

Methodology notes (e.g., 'CPI rebased to 2020=100')

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

401Missing or invalid API key.

errorErrorDetailrequired

Structured error payload returned by all Aethar APIs. Mirrors the shape produced by aethar_auth.exception_handlers so the OpenAPI spec accurately describes real error bodies for documentation readers and MCP clients.

codestringrequired

Machine-readable error code (e.g. INVALID_API_KEY)

messagestringrequired

Human-readable error message

statusintegerrequired

HTTP status code

request_idstringrequired

Request identifier — include in support tickets

suggestionanyoptional

Actionable hint on how to resolve the error

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

doc_urlanyoptional

Link to full documentation for this error code

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

fieldanyoptional

Field that caused the error (if applicable)

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

errorsanyoptional

Per-field validation errors (only for 422 VALIDATION_ERROR responses)

one of:

option 1:

array of object

object

option 2:

null

403API key lacks the required scope for this endpoint.

errorErrorDetailrequired

codestringrequired

Machine-readable error code (e.g. INVALID_API_KEY)

messagestringrequired

Human-readable error message

statusintegerrequired

HTTP status code

request_idstringrequired

Request identifier — include in support tickets

suggestionanyoptional

Actionable hint on how to resolve the error

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

doc_urlanyoptional

Link to full documentation for this error code

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

fieldanyoptional

Field that caused the error (if applicable)

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

errorsanyoptional

Per-field validation errors (only for 422 VALIDATION_ERROR responses)

one of:

option 1:

array of object

object

option 2:

null

404Unrecognised area code or no price data loaded.

errorErrorDetailrequired

codestringrequired

Machine-readable error code (e.g. INVALID_API_KEY)

messagestringrequired

Human-readable error message

statusintegerrequired

HTTP status code

request_idstringrequired

Request identifier — include in support tickets

suggestionanyoptional

Actionable hint on how to resolve the error

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

doc_urlanyoptional

Link to full documentation for this error code

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

fieldanyoptional

Field that caused the error (if applicable)

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

errorsanyoptional

Per-field validation errors (only for 422 VALIDATION_ERROR responses)

one of:

option 1:

array of object

object

option 2:

null

422Request validation failed (bad query params, unresolvable country, etc.).

errorErrorDetailrequired

codestringrequired

Machine-readable error code (e.g. INVALID_API_KEY)

messagestringrequired

Human-readable error message

statusintegerrequired

HTTP status code

request_idstringrequired

Request identifier — include in support tickets

suggestionanyoptional

Actionable hint on how to resolve the error

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

doc_urlanyoptional

Link to full documentation for this error code

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

fieldanyoptional

Field that caused the error (if applicable)

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

errorsanyoptional

Per-field validation errors (only for 422 VALIDATION_ERROR responses)

one of:

option 1:

array of object

object

option 2:

null

429Daily rate limit exceeded for this API key.

errorErrorDetailrequired

codestringrequired

Machine-readable error code (e.g. INVALID_API_KEY)

messagestringrequired

Human-readable error message

statusintegerrequired

HTTP status code

request_idstringrequired

Request identifier — include in support tickets

suggestionanyoptional

Actionable hint on how to resolve the error

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

doc_urlanyoptional

Link to full documentation for this error code

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

fieldanyoptional

Field that caused the error (if applicable)

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

errorsanyoptional

Per-field validation errors (only for 422 VALIDATION_ERROR responses)

one of:

option 1:

array of object

object

option 2:

null

500Unexpected server error. Includes a request_id for support.

errorErrorDetailrequired

codestringrequired

Machine-readable error code (e.g. INVALID_API_KEY)

messagestringrequired

Human-readable error message

statusintegerrequired

HTTP status code

request_idstringrequired

Request identifier — include in support tickets

suggestionanyoptional

Actionable hint on how to resolve the error

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

doc_urlanyoptional

Link to full documentation for this error code

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

fieldanyoptional

Field that caused the error (if applicable)

one of:

option 1:

string

option 2:

null

errorsanyoptional

Per-field validation errors (only for 422 VALIDATION_ERROR responses)

one of:

option 1:

array of object

object

option 2:

null

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