Cost Of Living in Lake San Marcos, CA

F

70%

Overall NAT. AVG.

13%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

201%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Lake San Marcos	California	National
Cost of living	170	140	100
Goods & Services	113	111	100
Groceries	116	112	100
Health care	105	109	100
Housing	301	196	100
Transportation	127	126	100
Utilities	107	127	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Lake San Marcos is 22% higher than the California average
The cost of living in Lake San Marcos is 70% higher than the national average
Lake San Marcos housing is 201% higher than the national average
California general sales tax is 42% higher than the national average
California state income tax is 56% 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

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$75,359	$6,280	$1,758	$2,261
Renters	$90,729	$7,561	$2,117	$2,722

The affordability of the housing market in Lake San Marcos, CA as well as the overall cost of living can be predicted by what percent of the monthly income is spent on housing related costs. This is konwn as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The overall rule of thumb is that no more than 28% of your gross income should be spent on the overall costs related to housing and no more than 36% of gross income on all expenses and debts. Among Lake San Marcos homeowners, the median income is $75,359. This indicates that a monthly maximum of $1,758 should be spent by homeowners on all housing related costs. Renters have a median income of $90,729. This indicates that renters would have a maximum of $2,117 for their rent related monthly costs.

California Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
California	7.25%	10.5%

California Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
California	1%	12.3%

Goods & Services

Item	Lake San Marcos	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$26.92	$24.26	10.9%
Beauty Salon	$65.77	$45.56	44.3%
Toothpaste	$3.73	$3.70	0.7%
Shampoo	$1.50	$1.28	17.1%
Movie	$16.89	$12.13	39.2%
Bowling	$24.67	$18.00	37.1%

Groceries

Item	Lake San Marcos	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.47	$5.84	6.3%
Fried Chicken	$3.05	$1.57	93.7%
Milk	$4.98	$4.67	6.5%
Potatoes	$4.94	$4.93	0.0%
Pizza	$14.69	$12.09	21.5%
Beer	$11.25	$10.41	8.1%

Health Care

Item	Lake San Marcos	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$138.66	$125.68	10.3%
Doctor	$132.50	$135.78	2.4%
Dentist	$121.37	$113.29	7.1%
Ibuprofen	$12.01	$10.65	12.7%
Lipitor	$508.17	$468.60	8.4%

Housing

Item	Lake San Marcos	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$605,800.00	$184,700.00	228.0%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$5,168.91	$2,346.69	120.3%
Apartment Rent	$2,271.00	$949.00	139.3%

Transportation

Item	Lake San Marcos	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$4.68	$3.46	35.1%
Tire Balancing	$64.40	$59.92	7.5%

Utilities

Item	Lake San Marcos	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$223.42	$193.99	15.2%
Phone	$180.31	$192.25	6.2%

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	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Camp Pendleton North, CA	7,885	137	36.8%
Escondido, CA	150,396	148	48.4%
Vista, CA	100,659	153	53.5%
Camp Pendleton South, CA	16,618	157	57.3%
Oceanside, CA	175,694	158	58.1%
Lake San Marcos, CA	3,957	170	70.2%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Southgate, KY	3,957	97	3.3%
Level Green, PA	3,957	99	1.3%
Grand Mound, WA	3,957	117	17.0%
Ashland, MO	3,956	97	2.9%
Weaverville, NC	3,956	121	20.6%
Lake San Marcos, CA	3,957	170	70.2%