Cost Of Living in Covington, VA

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16%

Overall NAT. AVG.

4%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

49%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; 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	Covington	Virginia	National
Cost of living	84	109	100
Goods & Services	96	100	100
Groceries	97	101	100
Health care	89	99	100
Housing	51	130	100
Transportation	98	95	100
Utilities	116	104	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Covington is 23% lower than the Virginia average
The cost of living in Covington is 16% lower than the national average
Covington housing is 49% lower than the national average
Virginia general sales tax is 4% higher than the national average
Virginia state income tax is 23% 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	$43,487	$3,624	$1,015	$1,305
Renters	$30,500	$2,542	$712	$915

The percentage of monthly income spent on housing related expenses can help predict the affordability of housing in Covington, VA, 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 Covington, homeowners have a median income of $43,487. Using that number, a maximum of $1,015 per month should be allocated to housing expenses. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $30,500, which means there is a maximum of $712 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

Virginia Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Virginia	5.3%	6%

Virginia Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Virginia	2%	5.75%

Goods & Services

Item	Covington	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$14.40	$24.26	40.6%
Beauty Salon	$33.51	$45.56	26.5%
Toothpaste	$3.66	$3.70	1.1%
Shampoo	$1.20	$1.28	6.0%
Movie	$13.42	$12.13	10.6%
Bowling	$13.22	$18.00	26.5%

Groceries

Item	Covington	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.36	$5.84	8.3%
Fried Chicken	$1.43	$1.57	9.3%
Milk	$4.59	$4.67	1.8%
Potatoes	$4.93	$4.93	0.0%
Pizza	$14.11	$12.09	16.7%
Beer	$10.63	$10.41	2.1%

Health Care

Item	Covington	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$121.62	$125.68	3.2%
Doctor	$150.70	$135.78	11.0%
Dentist	$109.15	$113.29	3.7%
Ibuprofen	$10.39	$10.65	2.5%
Lipitor	$484.30	$468.60	3.4%

Housing

Item	Covington	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$70,400.00	$184,700.00	61.9%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,912.27	$2,346.69	18.5%
Apartment Rent	$760.00	$949.00	19.9%

Transportation

Item	Covington	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.29	$3.46	4.9%
Tire Balancing	$41.28	$59.92	31.1%

Utilities

Item	Covington	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$240.27	$193.99	23.9%
Phone	$184.83	$192.25	3.9%

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.
Low Moor, VA	333	99	1.3%
Selma, VA	495	82	17.9%
Iron Gate, VA	396	86	14.4%
Clifton Forge, VA	3,534	87	13.2%
Callaghan, VA	247	92	7.6%
Covington, VA	5,653	84	15.7%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Didsbury, AB	5,654	n/a
North Windham, ME	5,651	113	12.9%
Columbia Falls, MT	5,651	98	1.9%
Clarion, PA	5,650	92	8.1%
Oliver, BC	5,648	n/a
Covington, VA	5,653	84	15.7%