Bethel, Connecticut Cost Of Living

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F

Overall 29%

Goods & Services 23%

Housing 49%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2019 and was released from C2ER in January, 2020; 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	Bethel	Connecticut	National
Cost of living	129	124	100
Goods & Services	123	123	100
Groceries	110	108	100
Health care	117	112	100
Housing	149	137	100
Transportation	124	114	100
Utilities	123	129	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Bethel is 4% higher than the Connecticut average
The cost of living in Bethel is 29% higher than the national average
Bethel housing is 49% higher than the national average
Connecticut general sales tax is 25% higher than the national average
Connecticut state income tax is 22% 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	$87,453	$7,288	$2,040	$2,624
Renters	$51,765	$4,314	$1,208	$1,553

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Bethel, CT, as well as the overall cost of living. As a general rule of thumb, the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for homeowners or renters should be not more than 28 percent of gross income to be spent on housing related costs and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses, including debts. The median income for Bethel homeowners, is $87,453. This would allow for a maximum of $2,040 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $51,765 which would result in a maximum of $1,208 to be spent on rental costs.

Connecticut Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Connecticut	6.35%	6.35%

Connecticut Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Connecticut	3%	6.99%

Goods & Services

Item	Bethel	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$30.60	$17.49	75.0%
Beauty Salon	$59.00	$38.17	54.6%
Toothpaste	$2.05	$2.32	11.7%
Shampoo	$0.96	$1.01	5.1%
Movie	$13.90	$10.72	29.6%
Bowling	$17.00	$13.86	22.6%

Groceries

Item	Bethel	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.57	$3.90	17.2%
Fried Chicken	$1.89	$1.40	35.4%
Milk	$2.15	$1.96	9.6%
Potatoes	$3.99	$3.18	25.4%
Pizza	$9.39	$10.39	9.7%
Beer	$9.89	$9.23	7.2%

Health Care

Item	Bethel	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$133.00	$106.34	25.1%
Doctor	$128.00	$115.25	11.1%
Dentist	$131.00	$98.38	33.2%
Ibuprofen	$7.95	$9.26	14.2%
Lipitor	$511.40	$466.47	9.6%

Housing

Item	Bethel	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$277,900.00	$184,700.00	50.5%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,098.87	$1,273.32	64.8%
Apartment Rent	$1,380.00	$949.00	45.4%

Transportation

Item	Bethel	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.98	$2.59	14.9%
Tire Balancing	$69.96	$48.90	43.1%

Utilities

Item	Bethel	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$242.33	$167.60	44.6%
Phone	$174.02	$163.42	6.5%

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.
Cannondale, CT	92	120	20%
Watchtower, NY	2,316	120	20%
Copake Hamlet, NY	161	112	12%
Bridgeport, CT	147,022	115	15%
Heritage Village, CT	3,875	116	16%
Bethel, CT	9,541	129	29%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Hampton, NH	9,542	125	25%
Winslow, AZ	9,539	89	-11%
Winfield, IL	9,543	120	20%
North Gates, NY	9,537	92	-8%
Steger, IL	9,535	91	-9%
Bethel, CT	9,541	129	29%

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