Cortez, Colorado Cost Of Living

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Overall 7%

Goods & Services 3%

Housing 21%

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	Cortez	Colorado	National
Cost of living	93	110	100
Goods & Services	97	103	100
Groceries	108	97	100
Health care	106	104	100
Housing	79	134	100
Transportation	108	102	100
Utilities	84	86	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Cortez is 15% lower than the Colorado average
The cost of living in Cortez is 7% lower than the national average
Cortez housing is 21% lower than the national average
Colorado general sales tax is 43% lower than the national average
Colorado state income tax is 88% 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	$47,319	$3,943	$1,104	$1,420
Renters	$31,579	$2,632	$737	$947

To approximate the cost of living and the housing affordability in Cortez, CO, we can look at the percentage of income that is available to be spent on monthly housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). To stay on the safe side, a consumer should not spend more than 28% of his or her gross income on housing-related expenses and costs and not more than 36% of income on all expenses and debts. Homeowners in Cortez have a median income of $47,319. Therefore, the amount that a consumer should spend on housing costs should be no more than $1,104 per month to avoid calamity and poverty. The renters in the city have an income of about $31,579, which would make their monthly maximum allowable rental costs $737.

Colorado Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Colorado	2.9%	10%

Colorado Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Colorado	4.63%	4.63%

Goods & Services

Item	Cortez	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$22.50	$17.49	28.6%
Beauty Salon	$35.00	$38.17	8.3%
Toothpaste	$1.96	$2.32	15.6%
Shampoo	$0.88	$1.01	13.0%
Movie	$12.15	$10.72	13.3%
Bowling	$13.75	$13.86	0.8%

Groceries

Item	Cortez	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.29	$3.90	15.6%
Fried Chicken	$1.36	$1.40	2.6%
Milk	$2.18	$1.96	11.1%
Potatoes	$2.16	$3.18	32.1%
Pizza	$12.40	$10.39	19.3%
Beer	$9.32	$9.23	1.0%

Health Care

Item	Cortez	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$72.50	$106.34	31.8%
Doctor	$148.00	$115.25	28.4%
Dentist	$97.50	$98.38	0.9%
Ibuprofen	$9.98	$9.26	7.8%
Lipitor	$497.16	$466.47	6.6%

Housing

Item	Cortez	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$149,600.00	$184,700.00	19.0%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,407.25	$1,273.32	10.5%
Apartment Rent	$697.00	$949.00	26.6%

Transportation

Item	Cortez	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.69	$2.59	3.9%
Tire Balancing	$57.33	$48.90	17.3%

Utilities

Item	Cortez	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$117.83	$167.60	29.7%
Phone	$183.45	$163.42	12.3%

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.
Towaoc, CO	969	89	-11%
Dolores, CO	1,074	96	-4%
Lewis, CO	139	97	-3%
Cortez, CO	8,683	93	-7%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
South Kensington, MD	8,682	179	79%
Independent Hill, VA	8,684	151	51%
Little Falls, MN	8,682	95	-5%
Viera West, FL	8,680	109	9%
Scott, LA	8,687	92	-8%
Cortez, CO	8,683	93	-7%

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

Cortez, CO Cost of Living

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