Both state regulators and local operating companies are increasingly likely to have to estimate forward-looking loop costs for telephone service. The task can be difficult however, as few models exist, and those that do are unwieldy. New models can be developed, but this is an expensive and time-consuming proposition. Furthermore, if a company proposes a new model, regulators have few tools available to validate the model. We posit a simple, straight-forward technique that can be used either as a first cut at estimating forward-looking costs or as a tool to verify other models. The results of this tool should be applicable in states with similar topographies and rural population distributions.