Cost Of Living in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

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F

191%

Overall NAT. AVG.

22%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

580%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2025 and was released from C2ER in January, 2026; 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	Carmel-by-the-Sea	California	National
Cost of living	291	143	100
Goods & Services	122	115	100
Groceries	110	108	100
Health care	107	103	100
Housing	680	197	100
Transportation	137	136	100
Utilities	143	144	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Carmel-by-the-Sea is 103% higher than the California average
The cost of living in Carmel-by-the-Sea is 191% higher than the national average
Carmel-by-the-Sea housing is 580% higher than the national average
California general sales tax is 42% higher than the national average
California state income tax is 61% lower 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	$133,497	$11,125	$3,115	$4,005
Renters	$156,373	$13,031	$3,648	$4,692

The affordability of the housing market in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA as well as the overall cost of living can be predicted 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 be spent on the overall costs related to housing and no more than 36% of gross income on all expenses and debts. Among Carmel-by-the-Sea homeowners, the median income is $133,497. This indicates that a monthly maximum of $3,115 should be spent by homeowners on all housing related costs. Renters have a median income of $156,373. This indicates that renters would have a maximum of $3,648 for their rent related monthly costs.

California Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
California	7.25%	10.5%

California Income Tax

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

Goods & Services

Item	Carmel-by-the-Sea	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$29.74	$27.62	7.7%
Beauty Salon	$81.94	$51.11	60.3%
Toothpaste	$4.09	$4.09	0.1%
Shampoo	$2.23	$1.54	44.6%
Movie	$17.31	$12.88	34.4%
Yoga	$35.00	$19.66	78.0%

Groceries

Item	Carmel-by-the-Sea	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$8.02	$7.70	4.1%
Fried Chicken	$2.65	$1.66	59.4%
Milk	$5.18	$4.73	9.4%
Potatoes	$4.86	$5.26	7.5%
Pizza	$19.60	$12.76	53.6%
Beer	$11.35	$10.55	7.6%

Health Care

Item	Carmel-by-the-Sea	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$175.85	$140.06	25.6%
Doctor	$150.69	$153.82	2.0%
Dentist	$135.64	$123.15	10.1%
Ibuprofen	$12.52	$11.73	6.7%
Lipitor	$24.08	$23.61	2.0%

Housing

Item	Carmel-by-the-Sea	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$2,848,355.00	$326,622.00	772.1%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$9,604.61	$2,480.25	287.2%
Apartment Rent	$3,335.00	$1,444.00	131.0%

Transportation

Item	Carmel-by-the-Sea	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$4.55	$3.06	48.9%
Tire Balancing	$69.75	$65.21	7.0%

Utilities

Item	Carmel-by-the-Sea	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$372.98	$220.12	69.4%
Phone	$194.17	$195.71	0.8%

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.
Boronda, CA	1,790	138	37.9%
Sand City, CA	333	141	40.9%
Castroville, CA	6,501	163	62.8%
Seaside, CA	34,761	166	65.7%
Marina, CA	22,443	166	66.1%
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA	3,890	291	190.6%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Fordyce, AR	3,889	85	14.9%
Cozad, NE	3,889	87	13.2%
Brookville, PA	3,889	89	11.3%
Buckhead, GA	3,891	128	28.1%
Carter Lake, IA	3,891	87	12.5%
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA	3,890	291	190.6%