Buffalo Grove, Illinois Cost Of Living

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F

Overall 23%

Goods & Services 13%

Housing 58%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2021 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	Buffalo Grove	Illinois	National
Cost of living	123	97	100
Goods & Services	113	96	100
Groceries	104	97	100
Health care	98	98	100
Housing	158	95	100
Transportation	119	104	100
Utilities	91	96	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Buffalo Grove is 27% higher than the Illinois average
The cost of living in Buffalo Grove is 23% higher than the national average
Buffalo Grove housing is 58% higher than the national average
Illinois general sales tax is 23% higher than the national average
Illinois state income tax is 101% 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	$110,703	$9,225	$2,583	$3,321
Renters	$73,234	$6,103	$1,709	$2,197

The percentage of monthly income spent on housing related expenses can help predict the affordability of housing in Buffalo Grove, IL, as well as what the overall cost of living might be. Generally, a good rule to follow is that the debt-to-income (DTI) level you want to maintain is 28 percent or less of your income on your rent or mortgage payments and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses and debts. In Buffalo Grove, homeowners have a median income of $110,703. Using that number, a maximum of $2,583 per month should be allocated to housing expenses. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $73,234, which means there is a maximum of $1,709 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

Illinois Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Illinois	6.25%	10.25%

Illinois Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Illinois	4.95%	4.95%

Goods & Services

Item	Buffalo Grove	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$34.95	$20.27	72.4%
Beauty Salon	$59.38	$40.39	47.0%
Toothpaste	$2.43	$2.36	2.9%
Shampoo	$1.06	$1.08	1.7%
Movie	$14.42	$10.99	31.3%
Bowling	$20.01	$15.49	29.2%

Groceries

Item	Buffalo Grove	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.23	$4.30	21.7%
Fried Chicken	$1.85	$1.40	31.9%
Milk	$2.26	$2.20	2.6%
Potatoes	$2.75	$3.22	14.7%
Pizza	$13.02	$10.74	21.2%
Beer	$9.67	$9.60	0.8%

Health Care

Item	Buffalo Grove	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$97.30	$109.73	11.3%
Doctor	$105.52	$118.34	10.8%
Dentist	$102.17	$100.94	1.2%
Ibuprofen	$9.99	$9.93	0.6%
Lipitor	$494.12	$469.53	5.2%

Housing

Item	Buffalo Grove	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$299,600.00	$184,700.00	62.2%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,777.54	$1,229.62	44.6%
Apartment Rent	$1,399.00	$949.00	47.4%

Transportation

Item	Buffalo Grove	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.39	$2.71	24.9%
Tire Balancing	$57.48	$51.86	10.8%

Utilities

Item	Buffalo Grove	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$129.38	$170.84	24.3%
Phone	$206.73	$187.18	10.4%

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.
Park City, IL	7,402	87	-13%
Waukegan, IL	88,159	98	-2%
North Chicago, IL	30,023	99	-1%
Round Lake Beach, IL	27,936	101	1%
Round Lake Park, IL	7,989	101	1%
Buffalo Grove, IL	41,554	123	23%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Charlottetown, PE	41,537	n/a
Urbandale, IA	41,578	96	-4%
Riverton, UT	41,521	115	15%
Waipahu, HI	41,590	172	72%
Linden, NJ	41,595	118	18%
Buffalo Grove, IL	41,554	123	23%

Source: The Buffalo Grove, IL cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2021.