Berkeley, CA Cost Of Living

Home

Livability

Livability score Score breakdown Commute times City comparison Best nearby cities Livability poll Reviews

Cost of living

Cost of living index Cost of living poll Did you know? City comparison Salary calculator State sales tax Cost of living breakdown Best nearby cities

Crime

Reported annual crime Crime poll Crime heat map Did you know? City comparison Daily crime Year over year crime Best nearby cities

Demographics

Demographics profile Did you know? City comparison Race breakdown Languages spoken Age breakdown Marital status

Employment

Employment information Employment poll Am I middle class? Did you know? City comparison Employment status Median earnings Best nearby cities

Real Estate

Homes for sale Market facts Home affordability Affordability calculator Mortgage calculator Demographics Best nearby cities

Rentals Schools Weather

Current weather Weather poll Average temperature Did you know? City comparison Air quality / pollution Heat index Montly precipitation Best nearby cities

Berkeley 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	Berkeley	California	National
Cost of living index	194	140	100
Index	Berkeley	California	National
Goods & Services index	130	111	100
Groceries index	126	118	100
Health care index	127	113	100
Housing index	347	196	100
Transportation index	137	128	100
Utilities index	121	118	100

A general summary of the cost of living index in Berkeley, CA is shown above. Compared to the state average of California the cost of living index in Berkeley, CA is 194, which is 38% higher than the average in California and compared to the national average it is 94% higher than. The cost of living index is made up of several categories. These are transportation at 9%, utilities at 10%, goods and services at 33%, housing at 30%, groceries at 13%, and health care at 5%. The bulk of the cost of living index comes from the categories of goods and services and housing. If you look at everyday goods and services they can be a good indicator in a certain city of the general costs of goods there. In Berkeley, CA goods and services come in at 16% higher than the average in California and are 30% higher than compared to the nationwide average.

For Sale

For Rent

Find real estate listings

Find rental listings

Did you know?

The cost of living in Berkeley is 38% higher than the California average.
The cost of living in Berkeley is 94% higher than the national average.
The cost of housing in Berkeley is 247% higher than the national average.
California general sales tax is 42% higher than the national average.
California state income tax is 55% lower than the national average.

The best places in California

Here are the best places to live in California

Top 10 cities in California with the best education system

These are the 10 most affordable cities in California

See the best places to live in & around Berkeley

Compare Berkeley, CA Cost of living To Other Cities

Salary Calculator

This is how much you would need to earn in

Price difference in compared to

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

The salary calculator allows you to compare how much your current salary in Berkeley, CA would be worth in another city. In other words, the salary calculator will adjust the figure you enter for cost of living so that you can determine how much more or much less you would need to earn while maintaining your current quality of living. If you are considering relocating to a more expensive city than Berkeley, CA, the calculator will tell you how much more you need to earn so you can assess job offers more accurately. The Berkeley, CA salary calculator is easy to use. All you do is enter the name of another city, then move the slider to your current income. After that, the salary calculator will crunch the numbers for you and give you the information you need about the place you are considering going. Additionally, it will show a detailed breakdown 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	$128,089	$10,674	$2,989	$3,843
Renters	$42,029	$3,502	$981	$1,261

The affordability of the housing market in Berkeley, CA 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 Berkeley, CA homeowners, the median income is $128,089. This indicates that a monthly maximum of $2,989 should be spent by homeowners on all housing related costs. Renters have a median income of $42,029. This indicates that renters should have a maximum of $981 used for their rent related monthly costs.

California Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
California	7.25%	10.25%

California Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
California	1%	13.3%

For those who live in Berkeley, CA and want to know what the true cost of living is, they ought to look at both the California income tax rate and the California 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 California, the sales tax is 7.25%, while the most you'll pay in surtax is 10.25%. 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 California, the income tax rate ranges between 1% to 13.3%.

Goods & Services

Item	Berkeley	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$19.71	$17.49	12.7%
Beauty Salon	$67.86	$38.17	77.8%
Toothpaste	$2.93	$2.32	26.2%
Shampoo	$1.33	$1.01	31.4%
Movie	$12.11	$10.72	12.9%
Bowling	$19.83	$13.86	43.1%

Groceries

Item	Berkeley	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.71	$3.90	4.9%
Fried Chicken	$1.35	$1.40	3.3%
Milk	$2.39	$1.96	21.8%
Potatoes	$2.66	$3.18	16.4%
Pizza	$13.70	$10.39	31.8%
Beer	$10.49	$9.23	13.7%

Health Care

Item	Berkeley	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$136.71	$106.34	28.6%
Doctor	$150.71	$115.25	30.8%
Dentist	$139.14	$98.38	41.4%
Ibuprofen	$11.99	$9.26	29.5%
Lipitor	$442.32	$466.47	5.2%

Housing

Item	Berkeley	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$795,200.00	$184,700.00	330.5%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$3,196.29	$1,273.32	151.0%
Apartment Rent	$1,434.00	$949.00	51.1%

Transportation

Item	Berkeley	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.79	$2.59	46.2%
Tire Balancing	$61.00	$48.90	24.8%

Utilities

Item	Berkeley	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$228.47	$167.60	36.3%
Phone	$184.65	$163.42	13.0%

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.
Strawberry CDP (Tuolumne County), CA	116	133	33%
Rollingwood, CA	3,231	125	25%
Port Costa, CA	228	126	26%
San Pablo, CA	29,991	126	26%
Montalvin Manor, CA	3,174	127	27%
Berkeley, CA	118,585	194	94%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Norman, OK	118,974	92	-8%
Ann Arbor, MI	118,087	110	10%
Beaumont, TX	117,729	88	-12%
Allentown, PA	119,624	94	-6%
Vallejo, CA	119,644	131	31%
Berkeley, CA	118,585	194	94%

Source: The Berkeley, CA cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2019.

Berkeley, CA Cost of Living