An Overview of Cost of Living in Buena Park, CA
The cost of living in Buena Park affects the quality of life one can afford in this new location. It allows people to assess whether they can maintain their preferred lifestyle, including housing, leisure activities and dining options. Your total monthly expenditures can varry depending on the area, as well as many other factors. The cost of living in Buena Park is 163, which is 63% higher than the national average. Knowledge of the cost of living can help individuals make informed decisions about retirement savings, investments, and financial goals.
If affordability is among your top priorities when searching for a new place to live, this area may not be the ideal fit, as the cost of living in Buena Park is among the most expensive in the United States. Just a minority of areas exhibit a cost of living at least 20% higher than the national average, and unfortunately, Buena Park falls into this category, which may not align with your goal of finding a budget-friendly living environment.
Housing costs are a major factor in the Buena Park cost of living index, and they often eat up a big chunk of your take-home pay. Unfortunately, in this area, housing expenses for both homeownership and rentals were 185.2% higher than what's typical in an average city. That includes the prices of homes and rents, as well as mortgage rates and insurance.
The things you purchase regularly, like clothes, haircuts, movie tickets and gym memberships, can make a big dent in your budget and make up 33% of the cost of living index. Unfortunately in Buena Park, these items will cost you 12% more than what's considered the norm, making it a more expensive place to call home.
The substantial and relentless rise in grocery prices definitely warrants some attention. Over the past two years, grocery expenses have escalated by more than 10%. Having said that, the situation in Buena Park is even less favorable, with grocery prices here being 13.1% higher than the national average.
Is Buena Park Affordable?
Wondering if Buena Park is affordable? It's a question that often comes up when you're thinking about a new city since affordability can really shape your decisions. The cost of living index (covered earlier), housing expenses and income levels all play a part in the affordability equation. In Buena Park, for example, the median home price is 229.6% higher than what folks pay nationally, and monthly rent is 81.6% higher than the usual rates. Plus, income levels matter too, with Buena Park boasting a median household income of $84,680, which is 53.1% higher than the national average.
What Factors can Influence the Cost of Living in Buena Park?
Groceries: Grocery costs have continued to increase significantly over the last 2-3 years. In some markets the cost of food has gone up by more than 20% in that period. While other markets have managed to see only a moderate uptick. These food costs can have a major impact on the cost of living in any area. In Buena Park, the groceries index is 13.1% higher than the national average.
Urbanization: Urban areas with extensive amenities and job opportunities tend to have a higher cost of living due to increased demand for services and relocation, resulting in higher home prices and higher rents. Less densely populated rural areas, or areas with less demand tend to have fewer amenities and slower job growth, which results in a lower cost of living.
Healthcare: Healthcare costs and insurance premiums can undergo substantial fluctuations based on the city or state of residence. Elements such as the availability of healthcare facilities, out-of-pocket costs for medical consultations, dental expenses, prescription medication charges and specialized medical care fees all contribute to variations in the cost of living. In Buena Park, healthcare costs are 1.2% lower than the national average.
Where is the Data From?
The Buena Park cost of living data displayed above is derived from the C2ER cost of living index to provide a useful and reasonably accurate measure of living cost differences in urban areas. The index takes into account data from 300 independent researches, covering more than 60 goods and services across 6 different categories, to create an overall index for each area, with 100 being the average. The C2ER index does not include sales or income tax rates in their data, however AreaVibes does include both income and sales tax rates in the overall cost of living score for each area.
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