Cost Of Living in Alachua, FL

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A+

1%

Overall NAT. AVG.

8%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

11%

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	Alachua	Florida	National
Cost of living	99	98	100
Goods & Services	92	98	100
Groceries	96	99	100
Health care	94	96	100
Housing	111	96	100
Transportation	104	99	100
Utilities	86	97	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Alachua is 1% higher than the Florida average
The cost of living in Alachua is 1% lower than the national average
Alachua housing is 11% higher than the national average
Florida general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Florida state income tax is 100% 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	$76,813	$6,401	$1,792	$2,305
Renters	$42,578	$3,548	$993	$1,277

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Alachua is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Alachua has a median income of about $76,813 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,792 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $42,578. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $993 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Florida Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Florida	6%	7.5%

Florida Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Florida	0%	0%

Goods & Services

Item	Alachua	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$22.56	$24.26	7.0%
Beauty Salon	$62.28	$45.56	36.7%
Toothpaste	$3.65	$3.70	1.5%
Shampoo	$1.41	$1.28	10.4%
Movie	$13.48	$12.13	11.1%
Bowling	$16.89	$18.00	6.2%

Groceries

Item	Alachua	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.76	$5.84	1.4%
Fried Chicken	$1.42	$1.57	9.7%
Milk	$4.55	$4.67	2.6%
Potatoes	$5.29	$4.93	7.2%
Pizza	$10.99	$12.09	9.1%
Beer	$11.00	$10.41	5.7%

Health Care

Item	Alachua	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$80.94	$125.68	35.6%
Doctor	$125.35	$135.78	7.7%
Dentist	$103.14	$113.29	9.0%
Ibuprofen	$10.54	$10.65	1.0%
Lipitor	$490.06	$468.60	4.6%

Housing

Item	Alachua	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$203,500.00	$184,700.00	10.2%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,315.76	$2,346.69	1.3%
Apartment Rent	$1,079.00	$949.00	13.7%

Transportation

Item	Alachua	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.36	$3.46	2.9%
Tire Balancing	$54.31	$59.92	9.4%

Utilities

Item	Alachua	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$162.33	$193.99	16.3%
Phone	$192.62	$192.25	0.2%

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.
Brooker, FL	319	85	14.6%
La Crosse, FL	357	88	12.0%
Fort White, FL	702	91	9.1%
Worthington Springs, FL	301	93	7.0%
Gainesville, FL	133,611	95	4.8%
Alachua, FL	9,891	99	0.9%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Roberval, QC	9,887	n/a
Fort Oglethorpe, GA	9,877	85	14.6%
Jennings, LA	9,874	83	17.1%
Denham Springs, LA	9,908	95	5.4%
Northampton, PA	9,869	102	1.8%
Alachua, FL	9,891	99	0.9%