Cost Of Living In Benton, IL

Benton cost of living index

In the event that the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used. Each cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. If the amount is below 100, it is lower than the national average. If the amount is above 100, it is higher than the national average.
Index	Benton	Illinois	National
Cost of living index	79	98	100
Index	Benton	Illinois	National
Goods & Services index	96	97	100
Groceries index	89	97	100
Health care index	94	100	100
Housing index	46	99	100
Transportation index	89	104	100
Utilities index	91	95	100

An overview of the general cost of living index for Benton, IL is displayed above for your reference. Residents in Benton, IL enjoy a cost of living index of 79. This index is 20% lower than the Illinois average, and 21% lower than the national average. The following categories are used when determining the cost of living index for any given city: health care (5%), transportation (9%), utilities (10%), groceries (13%), housing (30%), and goods/services (33%). Clearly, housing and goods/services make up the majority of the formula for calculating the cost of living index. Because of this, the general cost of living for any given area can be estimated by looking at the cost of everyday goods in that area. For those living in Benton, IL, the average cost of goods and services is 1% lower than it is in Illinois, and it is 4% lower than the national average.

Did you know?

The cost of living in Benton is 20% lower than the Illinois average.
The cost of living in Benton is 21% lower than the national average.
The cost of housing in Benton is 54% lower than the national average.
Illinois general sales tax is 23% higher than the national average.
Illinois state income tax is 69% higher than the national average.

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Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Use the salary calculator to compare your current income in Benton, IL to any other city in the country. The calculator will tell you how much income you would need to make in a particular city to live at the same level based on the cost of living in each city. For example, if the cost of living in the city you are looking to move to is higher than that of Benton, IL, then you would need to earn a higher salary in order to enjoy the same standard of living. To use the Benton, IL salary calculator, enter the name of the new city, then move the slider to your current salary level. The salary calculator will do the rest and let you know if your salary would need to increase or decrease for the new city. You will also see a complete overview of the cost of living.

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$41,486	$3,457	$968	$1,245
Renters	$22,882	$1,907	$534	$687

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living is by simply calculating the maximum that a person should spend on housing in Benton, IL, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The safest way to live in the city is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income that one earns on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Benton, IL has a median income of about $41,486 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a person should spend a maximum of $968 on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $22,882. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $534 on all of their rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Illinois Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Illinois	6.25%	9.75%

Illinois Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Illinois	3.75%	3.75%

For those who live in Benton, IL and want to know what the true cost of living is, they ought to look at both the Illinois income tax rate and the Illinois sales tax rate. By sales tax, we mean the taxes that are included whenever a person is purchasing any goods or services. The amount that is taxed depends upon the particular state, where some states have a sales tax of zero percent while others can have a tax higher than seven percent. In Illinois, the sales tax is 6.25%, while the most you'll pay in surtax is 9.75%. There is also income tax to consider, which is based upon the amount of money made in a year. Just like sales tax, income tax depends upon the particular state but also depends upon what tax bracket the person is in. Income tax for the state can be higher than nine percent in some states to zero percent in others. For those that live in Illinois, the income tax rate ranges between 3.75% to 3.75%.

Goods & Services

Item	Benton	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$16.85	$15.56	8.2%
Beauty Salon	$32.83	$36.11	9.1%
Toothpaste	$1.64	$2.47	33.8%
Shampoo	$0.90	$0.96	7.1%
Movie	$9.13	$10.13	9.8%
Bowling	$3.43	$4.74	27.6%

Groceries

Item	Benton	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.87	$3.98	2.8%
Fried Chicken	$1.11	$1.41	21.4%
Milk	$1.52	$2.06	26.5%
Potatoes	$2.61	$2.98	12.6%
Pizza	$9.99	$9.47	5.5%
Beer	$7.84	$8.79	10.8%

Health Care

Item	Benton	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$117.91	$101.04	16.7%
Doctor	$90.53	$107.44	15.7%
Dentist	$81.87	$90.42	9.5%
Ibuprofen	$8.25	$9.28	11.1%
Lipitor	$445.26	$426.50	4.4%

Housing

Item	Benton	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$66,300.00	$175,700.00	62.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$915.34	$1,133.23	19.2%
Apartment Rent	$587.00	$920.00	36.2%

Transportation

Item	Benton	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$1.86	$1.99	6.6%
Tire Balancing	$36.00	$45.76	21.3%

Utilities

Item	Benton	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$168.12	$163.81	2.6%
Phone	$21.67	$28.39	23.7%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Macedonia, IL	52	71	-29%
Freeman Spur, IL	262	74	-26%
Dahlgren, IL	389	75	-25%
Nason, IL	218	78	-22%
Orient, IL	377	75	-25%
Benton, IL	7,185	79	-21%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Duvall, WA	7,185	133	33%
Ivins, UT	7,184	104	4%
Clewiston, FL	7,184	94	-6%
Woodland Park, CO	7,187	105	5%
Old Jefferson, LA	7,182	102	2%
Benton, IL	7,185	79	-21%

Source: The Benton, IL cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for the fourth quarter of 2016.

Benton, IL Cost of Living