Clayton, North Carolina Cost Of Living

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C+

Overall 6%

Goods & Services 5%

Housing 6%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 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	Clayton	North Carolina	National
Cost of living	94	94	100
Goods & Services	95	99	100
Groceries	87	98	100
Health care	94	110	100
Housing	94	85	100
Transportation	96	91	100
Utilities	97	95	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Clayton is equal to the North Carolina average
The cost of living in Clayton is 6% lower than the national average
Clayton housing is 6% lower than the national average
North Carolina general sales tax is 7% lower than the national average
North Carolina state income tax is 113% 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	$74,924	$6,244	$1,748	$2,248
Renters	$41,828	$3,486	$976	$1,255

The percentage of monthly income spent on housing related expenses can help predict the affordability of housing in Clayton, NC, 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 Clayton, homeowners have a median income of $74,924. Using that number, a maximum of $1,748 per month should be allocated to housing expenses. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $41,828, which means there is a maximum of $976 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

North Carolina Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
North Carolina	4.75%	7.5%

North Carolina Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
North Carolina	5.25%	5.25%

Goods & Services

Item	Clayton	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$22.17	$20.27	9.4%
Beauty Salon	$48.10	$40.39	19.1%
Toothpaste	$1.78	$2.36	24.4%
Shampoo	$0.99	$1.08	8.0%
Movie	$10.30	$10.99	6.3%
Bowling	$16.95	$15.49	9.4%

Groceries

Item	Clayton	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.69	$4.30	14.2%
Fried Chicken	$1.05	$1.40	25.2%
Milk	$1.74	$2.20	21.2%
Potatoes	$3.57	$3.22	10.8%
Pizza	$10.67	$10.74	0.6%
Beer	$10.49	$9.60	9.3%

Health Care

Item	Clayton	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$99.25	$109.73	9.5%
Doctor	$116.11	$118.34	1.9%
Dentist	$90.70	$100.94	10.1%
Ibuprofen	$9.28	$9.93	6.5%
Lipitor	$472.19	$469.53	0.6%

Housing

Item	Clayton	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$162,000.00	$184,700.00	12.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,009.98	$1,229.62	17.9%
Apartment Rent	$1,034.00	$949.00	9.0%

Transportation

Item	Clayton	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.60	$2.71	4.1%
Tire Balancing	$50.32	$51.86	3.0%

Utilities

Item	Clayton	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$164.85	$170.84	3.5%
Phone	$183.30	$187.18	2.1%

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.
Micro, NC	661	82	18.4%
Selma, NC	6,325	83	16.6%
Middlesex, NC	999	84	15.7%
Four Oaks, NC	2,150	85	14.9%
Smithfield, NC	11,746	87	13.4%
Clayton, NC	18,553	94	5.8%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Beltsville, MD	18,558	124	23.9%
Gautier, MS	18,541	88	12.1%
Erlanger, KY	18,565	90	10.4%
Ashtabula, OH	18,540	83	17.2%
Central Saanich, BC	18,572	n/a
Clayton, NC	18,553	94	5.8%

Source: This data reflects 2021 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.