Majel Barrett's husband Gene Roddenberry passed away four months before "Cost of Living" was filmed. When Lwaxana gives a speech about how loneliness is a terrible thing at her age, some fans construed it as autobiographical for the actress.
As Majel Barrett plays Mrs. Troi and is also the voice of the Enterprise computer, she is in effect talking to herself whenever Mrs. Troi addresses the ship's computer. This creates a sense of double meaning when Lwaxana, while stressed, says "I think your computer is having a nervous breakdown."
"Cost of Living" won two Emmy Awards. Only four other episodes of Trek have won this many. It won for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costume Design for a Series for Robert Blackman and Outstanding Individual Achievement in Makeup for a Series. It was also nominated for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series.
This marks the second appearance of background actress Holiday Freeman who later became a recurring background talent on The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), and Star Trek: Voyager (1995).
Laura Schlessinger: appears very briefly as an extra in the wedding scene, crossing in front of the groom.