Charleston, Illinois Cost Of Living

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B+

Overall 17%

Goods & Services 11%

Housing 43%

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	Charleston	Illinois	National
Cost of living	83	98	100
Goods & Services	89	98	100
Groceries	91	97	100
Health care	101	100	100
Housing	57	95	100
Transportation	105	112	100
Utilities	108	97	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Charleston is 15% lower than the Illinois average
The cost of living in Charleston is 17% lower than the national average
Charleston housing is 43% lower 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	$58,446	$4,871	$1,364	$1,754
Renters	$16,786	$1,399	$392	$504

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Charleston, IL, 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 Charleston homeowners, is $58,446. This would allow for a maximum of $1,364 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $16,786 which would result in a maximum of $392 to be spent on rental costs.

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	Charleston	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$20.00	$17.49	14.4%
Beauty Salon	$44.33	$38.17	16.1%
Toothpaste	$2.16	$2.32	6.9%
Shampoo	$0.93	$1.01	8.1%
Movie	$10.00	$10.72	6.8%
Bowling	$14.33	$13.86	3.4%

Groceries

Item	Charleston	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.60	$3.90	7.7%
Fried Chicken	$1.24	$1.40	11.2%
Milk	$1.84	$1.96	6.2%
Potatoes	$3.22	$3.18	1.2%
Pizza	$12.58	$10.39	21.0%
Beer	$8.31	$9.23	10.0%

Health Care

Item	Charleston	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$78.80	$106.34	25.9%
Doctor	$120.00	$115.25	4.1%
Dentist	$101.00	$98.38	2.7%
Ibuprofen	$9.76	$9.26	5.4%
Lipitor	$487.38	$466.47	4.5%

Housing

Item	Charleston	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$95,300.00	$184,700.00	48.4%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$979.79	$1,273.32	23.1%
Apartment Rent	$652.00	$949.00	31.3%

Transportation

Item	Charleston	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.86	$2.59	10.3%
Tire Balancing	$48.00	$48.90	1.8%

Utilities

Item	Charleston	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$186.40	$167.60	11.2%
Phone	$188.52	$163.42	15.4%

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.
Kansas, IL	652	76	-24%
Hindsboro, IL	349	79	-21%
Toledo, IL	1,372	79	-21%
Lerna, IL	272	79	-21%
Casey, IL	2,561	80	-20%
Charleston, IL	21,257	83	-17%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Winter Gardens, CA	21,255	130	30%
Orchards, WA	21,249	114	14%
Hutto, TX	21,241	95	-5%
Fort Walton Beach, FL	21,238	97	-3%
Marquette, MI	21,282	91	-9%
Charleston, IL	21,257	83	-17%

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

Charleston, IL Cost of Living