An Overview of Cost of Living in Pontiac, IL
The cost of living in Pontiac 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 Pontiac is 90, which is 10% lower than the national average. Knowledge of the cost of living can help individuals make informed decisions about retirement savings, investments, and financial goals.
Is Pontiac Affordable?
Is Pontiac affordable? It's a key consideration when pondering a move, as affordability often shapes your choices. The cost of living index (we discussed it earlier), coupled with housing costs and income levels, serves as the cornerstone for determining a location's affordability. Take Pontiac, for instance, where the median home price falls 48.2% lower than the national average, and monthly rent rates are 18.5% lower than usual. Additionally, median income levels contribute to the equation, with Pontiac flaunting a median household income of $49,458, 10.6% lower than the national norm.
What Factors can Influence the Cost of Living in Pontiac?
Groceries: The costs associated with groceries have witnessed substantial increases over the past 2-3 years. In select markets, food prices have escalated by more than 20% during this timeframe, whereas others have seen more restrained upticks. The variances in food expenses can exert a considerable influence on the overall cost of living in a given locale. In Pontiac, the groceries index is 1.5% lower than the national average.
Housing: A sought-after location with high housing demand often leads to increased property values and rental rates, which can significantly inflate the overall cost of living. Conversely, areas with low housing demand, particularly in less desirable locales, tend to experience the opposite effect, causing prices to drop and contributing to a more affordable cost of living. In Pontiac, the housing index stands at 39.3% lower than the national average.
Utilities: Like everything else, utilities costs can range significantly depending on factors like climate, energy sources available, location and even state regulations. Things like electricity, water, heating and waste disposal costs can be higher or lower, depending on the city or state. The utilities index in Pontiac comes in at 14% lower than the national average.
Where is the Data From?
The Pontiac 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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