Lake of the Woods, VA Cost Of Living

Lake of the Woods 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	Lake of the Woods	Virginia	National
Cost of living index	117	108	100
Index	Lake of the Woods	Virginia	National
Goods & Services index	116	100	100
Groceries index	106	96	100
Health care index	111	100	100
Housing index	140	130	100
Transportation index	86	91	100
Utilities index	95	101	100

Displayed above is a general overview of the Lake of the Woods, VA cost of living index. The overall cost of living index in Lake of the Woods, VA is 117, which is 8% higher than the Virginia average and 17% higher than the national average. The cost of living index is created from the following categories: goods/services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). As you can see, goods/services and housing make up the majority of the overall cost of living index. Everyday goods and services can be a good indicator of the general cost of goods in a given city. In this case, the goods and services in Lake of the Woods, VA are 17% higher than the Virginia average and 16% higher than the national average.

Did you know?

The cost of living in Lake of the Woods is 8% higher than the Virginia average.
The cost of living in Lake of the Woods is 17% higher than the national average.
The cost of housing in Lake of the Woods is 40% higher than the national average.
Virginia general sales tax is 4% higher than the national average.
Virginia state income tax is 10% lower than the national average.

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Price difference in compared to

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

The salary calculator is meant to help you compare your salary in Lake of the Woods, VA to your potential earning power in another city. This can help you deduce what your salary would need to be in any given city in order for you to live the same lifestyle that you do in your current city. In other words, if you plan on moving to a city where the cost of living is higher than in Lake of the Woods, VA, you'll have to make more money in the new city in order to maintain the lifestyle you currently enjoy. To use the Lake of the Woods, VA salary calculator, simply input the new city, then move the adjustable slider to match your current income. Once you've selected your income, the calculator will determine if that income is sufficient to support your standard of living in the new city you entered. The calculator will also supply you with a rundown of living costs in the new city.

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$71,960	$5,997	$1,679	$2,159
Renters	$83,389	$6,949	$1,946	$2,502

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 Lake of the Woods, VA, 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. Lake of the Woods, VA has a median income of about $71,960 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a person should spend a maximum of $1,679 on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $83,389. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $1,946 on all of their rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Virginia Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Virginia	5.3%	6%

Virginia Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Virginia	2%	5.75%

For those who live in Lake of the Woods, VA and want to know what the true cost of living is, they ought to look at both the Virginia income tax rate and the Virginia 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 Virginia, the sales tax is 5.3%, while the most you'll pay in surtax is 6%. 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 Virginia, the income tax rate ranges between 2% to 5.75%.

Goods & Services

Item	Lake of the Woods	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$15.00	$16.09	6.7%
Beauty Salon	$45.83	$37.33	22.8%
Toothpaste	$3.29	$2.45	34.3%
Shampoo	$1.06	$1.00	5.6%
Movie	$13.06	$10.28	27.0%
Bowling	$6.39	$4.93	29.6%

Groceries

Item	Lake of the Woods	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.82	$3.80	0.3%
Fried Chicken	$1.50	$1.40	7.1%
Milk	$1.76	$2.01	12.5%
Potatoes	$4.23	$3.01	40.6%
Pizza	$9.66	$9.89	2.3%
Beer	$9.66	$8.90	8.5%

Health Care

Item	Lake of the Woods	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$102.33	$102.16	0.2%
Doctor	$116.67	$108.36	7.7%
Dentist	$114.22	$92.53	23.4%
Ibuprofen	$8.85	$9.28	4.6%
Lipitor	$429.16	$425.82	0.8%

Housing

Item	Lake of the Woods	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$256,200.00	$184,700.00	38.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,327.50	$1,202.44	10.4%
Apartment Rent	$1,361.00	$949.00	43.4%

Transportation

Item	Lake of the Woods	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.12	$2.24	5.7%
Tire Balancing	$31.89	$46.29	31.1%

Utilities

Item	Lake of the Woods	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$161.40	$165.96	2.7%
Phone	$26.64	$28.68	7.1%

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.
Culpeper, VA	17,565	109	9%
Remington, VA	639	111	11%
Spotsylvania Courthouse, VA	4,590	110	10%
Lake Wilderness, VA	2,654	116	16%
Fredericksburg, VA	27,853	123	23%
Lake of the Woods, VA	7,362	117	17%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Fort Pierce North, FL	7,365	87	-13%
Oak Island, NC	7,359	109	9%
Flatwoods, KY	7,358	83	-17%
Rathdrum, ID	7,357	95	-5%
Washington, IA	7,368	83	-17%
Lake of the Woods, VA	7,362	117	17%

Source: The Lake of the Woods, VA cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2017.

Lake of the Woods, VA Cost of Living