Altoona, Pennsylvania Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

B

Overall 11%

Goods & Services 2%

Housing 48%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; 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	Altoona	Pennsylvania	National
Cost of living	89	100	100
Goods & Services	98	102	100
Groceries	108	105	100
Health care	97	98	100
Housing	52	91	100
Transportation	108	105	100
Utilities	123	106	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Altoona is 11% lower than the Pennsylvania average
The cost of living in Altoona is 11% lower than the national average
Altoona housing is 48% lower than the national average
Pennsylvania general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Pennsylvania state income tax is 24% higher 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	$49,941	$4,162	$1,165	$1,498
Renters	$18,702	$1,559	$436	$561

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in Altoona, PA, is the percentage of monthly income that should be spent on housing expenses, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Generally speaking, no more than 28 percent of your total gross income should be spent on your housing expenses and not more than 36 percent of your gross income on total expenses, including debts. In Altoona, the median monthly income is $49,941 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $1,165 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $18,702, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $436 on monthly rental expenses.

Pennsylvania Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Pennsylvania	6%	8%

Pennsylvania Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Pennsylvania	3.07%	3.07%

Goods & Services

Item	Altoona	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$20.83	$20.27	2.8%
Beauty Salon	$38.46	$40.39	4.8%
Toothpaste	$1.93	$2.36	18.1%
Shampoo	$1.17	$1.08	8.7%
Movie	$11.14	$10.99	1.4%
Bowling	$13.21	$15.49	14.7%

Groceries

Item	Altoona	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.06	$4.30	5.4%
Fried Chicken	$1.71	$1.40	22.2%
Milk	$2.04	$2.20	7.4%
Potatoes	$4.69	$3.22	45.7%
Pizza	$11.27	$10.74	5.0%
Beer	$9.99	$9.60	4.1%

Health Care

Item	Altoona	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$96.63	$109.73	11.9%
Doctor	$104.64	$118.34	11.6%
Dentist	$99.12	$100.94	1.8%
Ibuprofen	$10.36	$9.93	4.3%
Lipitor	$487.25	$469.53	3.8%

Housing

Item	Altoona	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$85,400.00	$184,700.00	53.8%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,235.95	$1,229.62	0.5%
Apartment Rent	$606.00	$949.00	36.1%

Transportation

Item	Altoona	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.86	$2.71	5.4%
Tire Balancing	$58.17	$51.86	12.2%

Utilities

Item	Altoona	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$235.14	$170.84	37.6%
Phone	$193.95	$187.18	3.6%

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.
Blandburg, PA	404	85	15.1%
Patton, PA	1,887	86	14.4%
Grazierville, PA	498	86	13.9%
Portage, PA	2,601	86	13.6%
Gallitzin, PA	1,494	87	12.7%
Altoona, PA	45,209	89	11.2%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
West Seneca, NY	45,197	90	10.5%
Cleveland Heights, OH	45,160	92	8.4%
Biloxi, MS	45,271	93	7.4%
Littleton, CO	45,072	118	18.4%
Smyrna, TN	45,369	93	6.7%
Altoona, PA	45,209	89	11.2%

Source: This data reflects 2021 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.