Decatur, Alabama Cost Of Living

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B+

Overall 13%

Goods & Services 5%

Housing 32%

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	Decatur	Alabama	National
Cost of living	87	89	100
Goods & Services	95	98	100
Groceries	95	96	100
Health care	85	91	100
Housing	68	72	100
Transportation	88	91	100
Utilities	103	103	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Decatur is 3% lower than the Alabama average
The cost of living in Decatur is 13% lower than the national average
Decatur housing is 32% lower than the national average
Alabama general sales tax is 21% lower than the national average
Alabama state income tax is 10% 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	$58,909	$4,909	$1,374	$1,767
Renters	$25,987	$2,166	$606	$780

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in Decatur, AL, is the percentage of monthly income that should be spent on housing expenses, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Generally speaking, no more than 28 percent of your total gross income should be spent on your housing expenses and not more than 36 percent of your gross income on total expenses, including debts. In Decatur, the median monthly income is $58,909 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $1,374 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $25,987, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $606 on monthly rental expenses.

Alabama Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Alabama	4%	13.5%

Alabama Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Alabama	2%	5%

Goods & Services

Item	Decatur	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$11.33	$17.49	35.2%
Beauty Salon	$33.50	$38.17	12.2%
Toothpaste	$2.00	$2.32	13.8%
Shampoo	$0.93	$1.01	8.1%
Movie	$10.79	$10.72	0.6%
Bowling	$17.50	$13.86	26.3%

Groceries

Item	Decatur	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.18	$3.90	7.2%
Fried Chicken	$1.53	$1.40	9.6%
Milk	$1.85	$1.96	5.7%
Potatoes	$2.32	$3.18	27.1%
Pizza	$9.49	$10.39	8.7%
Beer	$9.39	$9.23	1.7%

Health Care

Item	Decatur	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$91.00	$106.34	14.4%
Doctor	$88.33	$115.25	23.4%
Dentist	$75.50	$98.38	23.3%
Ibuprofen	$8.72	$9.26	5.8%
Lipitor	$499.25	$466.47	7.0%

Housing

Item	Decatur	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$127,100.00	$184,700.00	31.2%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$850.72	$1,273.32	33.2%
Apartment Rent	$615.00	$949.00	35.2%

Transportation

Item	Decatur	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.34	$2.59	9.7%
Tire Balancing	$42.67	$48.90	12.7%

Utilities

Item	Decatur	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$178.22	$167.60	6.3%
Phone	$178.98	$163.42	9.5%

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.
Somerville, AL	751	83	-17%
Hillsboro, AL	561	85	-15%
Hartselle, AL	14,475	87	-13%
Athens, AL	24,461	88	-12%
Triana, AL	644	94	-6%
Decatur, AL	55,419	87	-13%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Hempstead, NY	55,454	139	39%
Anderson, IN	55,342	83	-17%
Weymouth Town, MA	55,601	133	33%
South Hill, WA	55,194	117	17%
Pflugerville, TX	55,712	98	-2%
Decatur, AL	55,419	87	-13%

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