Bellingham, WA Cost Of Living

Bellingham 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	Bellingham	Washington	National
Cost of living index	120	115	100
Index	Bellingham	Washington	National
Goods & Services index	114	106	100
Groceries index	105	107	100
Health care index	116	118	100
Housing index	145	135	100
Transportation index	121	116	100
Utilities index	80	94	100

A general overview of the cost of living index for Bellingham, WA is displayed above. In Bellingham, WA, the overall cost of living index is 120, which is 4% higher than the Washington average and 20% higher than the U.S. average. The following categories are used to calculate the overall cost of living index: goods/services (33%), housing (30%), groceries (13%), utilities (10%), transportation (9%) and health care (5%). From the list, it is clear that the categories of goods/services and housing are responsible for the largest portions of the overall cost of living index. As a general rule, everyday goods and services provide an accurate measure of the general cost of goods in any given city. In the case of Bellingham, WA, the city's goods and services are 8% higher than the Washington average and 14% higher than the U.S. average.

Did you know?

The cost of living in Bellingham is 4% higher than the Washington average.
The cost of living in Bellingham is 20% higher than the national average.
The cost of housing in Bellingham is 45% higher than the national average.
Washington general sales tax is 28% higher than the national average.
Washington state income tax is 100% lower than the national average.

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

Use the salary calculator to compare your current income in Bellingham, WA to any other city in the country. The calculator will tell you how much income you would need to make in a particular city to live at the same level based on the cost of living in each city. For example, if the cost of living in the city you are looking to move to is higher than that of Bellingham, WA, then you would need to earn a higher salary in order to enjoy the same standard of living. To use the Bellingham, WA salary calculator, enter the name of the new city, then move the slider to your current salary level. The salary calculator will do the rest and let you know if your salary would need to increase or decrease for the new city. You will also see a complete overview of the cost of living.

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$71,831	$5,986	$1,676	$2,155
Renters	$30,125	$2,510	$703	$904

The affordability of the housing market in Bellingham, WA as well as the overall cost of living can be indicated accurately 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 ever be used on the overall costs related to housing and no more than 36% of gross income on all expenses and debts. Among Bellingham, WA homeowners, the median income is $71,831. This indicates that a monthly maximum of $1,676 should be spent by homeowners on all housing related costs. Renters have a median income of $30,125. This indicates that renters should have a maximum of $703 used for their rent related monthly costs.

Washington Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Washington	6.5%	10.4%

Washington Income Tax

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

For those who live in Bellingham, WA and want to know what the true cost of living is, they ought to look at both the Washington income tax rate and the Washington 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 Washington, the sales tax is 6.5%, while the most you'll pay in surtax is 10.4%. 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 Washington, the income tax rate ranges between 0% to 0%.

Goods & Services

Item	Bellingham	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$17.96	$16.09	11.7%
Beauty Salon	$41.25	$37.33	10.5%
Toothpaste	$3.02	$2.45	23.3%
Shampoo	$1.43	$1.00	43.3%
Movie	$12.29	$10.28	19.5%
Bowling	$5.08	$4.93	3.1%

Groceries

Item	Bellingham	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.06	$3.80	6.7%
Fried Chicken	$1.64	$1.40	17.2%
Milk	$1.82	$2.01	9.3%
Potatoes	$2.83	$3.01	5.9%
Pizza	$10.89	$9.89	10.2%
Beer	$9.32	$8.90	4.8%

Health Care

Item	Bellingham	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$174.50	$102.16	70.8%
Doctor	$133.17	$108.36	22.9%
Dentist	$103.17	$92.53	11.5%
Ibuprofen	$10.85	$9.28	17.0%
Lipitor	$403.48	$425.82	5.2%

Housing

Item	Bellingham	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$306,300.00	$184,700.00	65.8%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,684.91	$1,202.44	40.1%
Apartment Rent	$925.00	$949.00	2.5%

Transportation

Item	Bellingham	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.86	$2.24	27.2%
Tire Balancing	$50.08	$46.29	8.2%

Utilities

Item	Bellingham	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$119.96	$165.96	27.7%
Phone	$25.99	$28.68	9.4%

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.
Edison, WA	135	108	8%
Custer, WA	448	109	9%
Acme, WA	162	109	9%
Deming, WA	246	109	9%
Nooksack, WA	1,763	110	10%
Bellingham, WA	84,462	120	20%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Bend, OR	84,416	120	20%
Edinburg, TX	84,399	76	-24%
Trenton, NJ	84,559	97	-3%
Riverview, FL	84,590	102	2%
Champaign, IL	84,672	93	-7%
Bellingham, WA	84,462	120	20%

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

Bellingham, WA Cost of Living