El Cajon, California Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

F

Overall 33%

Goods & Services 10%

Housing 76%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2020 and was released from C2ER in January, 2021; 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	El Cajon	California	National
Cost of living	133	140	100
Goods & Services	110	109	100
Groceries	112	112	100
Health care	108	109	100
Housing	176	196	100
Transportation	132	132	100
Utilities	121	127	100

Key findings

The cost of living in El Cajon is 5% lower than the California average
The cost of living in El Cajon is 33% higher than the national average
El Cajon housing is 76% higher than the national average
California general sales tax is 42% higher than the national average
California state income tax is 59% 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	$78,125	$6,510	$1,823	$2,344
Renters	$33,060	$2,755	$771	$992

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in El Cajon, CA, 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 El Cajon, the median monthly income is $78,125 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $1,823 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $33,060, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $771 on monthly rental expenses.

California Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
California	7.25%	10.5%

California Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
California	1%	13.3%

Goods & Services

Item	El Cajon	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$23.83	$20.27	17.6%
Beauty Salon	$65.72	$40.39	62.7%
Toothpaste	$2.26	$2.36	4.1%
Shampoo	$1.38	$1.08	28.5%
Movie	$14.91	$10.99	35.7%
Bowling	$22.56	$15.49	45.6%

Groceries

Item	El Cajon	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.52	$4.30	5.1%
Fried Chicken	$1.79	$1.40	28.2%
Milk	$2.30	$2.20	4.4%
Potatoes	$2.99	$3.22	7.1%
Pizza	$12.70	$10.74	18.3%
Beer	$9.93	$9.60	3.5%

Health Care

Item	El Cajon	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$123.80	$109.73	12.8%
Doctor	$125.00	$118.34	5.6%
Dentist	$109.73	$100.94	8.7%
Ibuprofen	$11.49	$9.93	15.7%
Lipitor	$490.43	$469.53	4.5%

Housing

Item	El Cajon	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$369,000.00	$184,700.00	99.8%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,789.33	$1,229.62	126.8%
Apartment Rent	$1,137.00	$949.00	19.8%

Transportation

Item	El Cajon	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.97	$2.71	46.6%
Tire Balancing	$55.77	$51.86	7.5%

Utilities

Item	El Cajon	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$239.65	$170.84	40.3%
Phone	$179.39	$187.18	4.2%

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.
Spring Valley CDP (Lake County), CA	1,154	106	6%
Bostonia, CA	16,295	123	23%
National City, CA	60,349	127	27%
La Presa, CA	37,110	129	29%
Winter Gardens, CA	21,255	131	31%
El Cajon, CA	102,894	133	33%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Spring Hill, FL	102,929	90	-10%
Lakeland, FL	102,714	89	-11%
Rialto, CA	102,418	114	14%
Columbia, MD	103,439	129	29%
Lewisville, TX	102,327	103	3%
El Cajon, CA	102,894	133	33%

Source: The El Cajon, CA cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2020.