Dunbar, West Virginia Cost Of Living

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Overall 16%

Goods & Services 4%

Housing 42%

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	Dunbar	West Virginia	National
Cost of living	84	86	100
Goods & Services	96	100	100
Groceries	92	97	100
Health care	95	88	100
Housing	58	62	100
Transportation	100	92	100
Utilities	87	90	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Dunbar is 2% lower than the West Virginia average
The cost of living in Dunbar is 16% lower than the national average
Dunbar housing is 42% lower than the national average
West Virginia general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
West Virginia state income tax is 22% 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	$46,629	$3,886	$1,088	$1,399
Renters	$31,758	$2,647	$741	$953

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Dunbar, WV, 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 Dunbar homeowners, is $46,629. This would allow for a maximum of $1,088 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $31,758 which would result in a maximum of $741 to be spent on rental costs.

West Virginia Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
West Virginia	6%	7%

West Virginia Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
West Virginia	3%	6.5%

Goods & Services

Item	Dunbar	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$15.90	$20.27	21.6%
Beauty Salon	$36.23	$40.39	10.3%
Toothpaste	$1.87	$2.36	20.6%
Shampoo	$0.99	$1.08	8.0%
Movie	$8.32	$10.99	24.3%
Bowling	$16.00	$15.49	3.3%

Groceries

Item	Dunbar	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.08	$4.30	5.1%
Fried Chicken	$1.05	$1.40	25.0%
Milk	$1.97	$2.20	10.7%
Potatoes	$3.37	$3.22	4.6%
Pizza	$10.99	$10.74	2.3%
Beer	$9.66	$9.60	0.7%

Health Care

Item	Dunbar	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$110.67	$109.73	0.9%
Doctor	$106.40	$118.34	10.1%
Dentist	$94.98	$100.94	5.9%
Ibuprofen	$9.08	$9.93	8.5%
Lipitor	$481.78	$469.53	2.6%

Housing

Item	Dunbar	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$91,300.00	$184,700.00	50.6%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,325.30	$1,229.62	7.8%
Apartment Rent	$743.00	$949.00	21.7%

Transportation

Item	Dunbar	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.59	$2.71	4.5%
Tire Balancing	$55.63	$51.86	7.3%

Utilities

Item	Dunbar	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$134.20	$170.84	21.4%
Phone	$181.35	$187.18	3.1%

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.
Shrewsbury, WV	798	95	5.4%
Chelyan, WV	898	73	27.3%
Chesapeake, WV	1,570	80	20.2%
Jefferson, WV	822	81	18.8%
Hometown, WV	487	80	19.5%
Dunbar, WV	7,714	84	16.4%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Ripon, WI	7,712	92	7.8%
Orosi, CA	7,711	100	0.4%
Spring Valley Lake, CA	7,710	119	18.8%
Brevard, NC	7,710	100	0.1%
Kenton, OH	7,719	85	15.0%
Dunbar, WV	7,714	84	16.4%

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