| Index | Gardena | California | National |
| Cost of living | 154 | 141 | 100 |
| Groceries | 112 | 111 | 100 |
| Health care | 114 | 116 | 100 |
| Housing | 243 | 197 | 100 |
| Transportation | 116 | 118 | 100 |
| Utilities | 120 | 119 | 100 |
| Lifestyle & Entertainment | 118 | 120 | 100 |
| Household Items | 112 | 111 | 100 |
| Education & Childcare | 120 | 127 | 100 |
Understanding the cost of living in Gardena can help future residents assess whether their current financial situation aligns with the expenses they will encounter. It enables them to plan for potential changes in their budget and lifestyle. The Gardena cost of living index is 154, which is 54% higher than the national average. The cost of living index is calculated by taking into account multiple categories, which encompass both the cost of everyday expenditures and larger expenses as well.
If affordability is among your top priorities when searching for a new place to live, this area may not be the ideal fit, as the cost of living in Gardena is among the most expensive in the United States. Just a minority of areas exhibit a cost of living at least 20% higher than the national average, and unfortunately, Gardena falls into this category, which may not align with your goal of finding a budget-friendly living environment.
Housing costs make up a big chunk of the cost of living in Gardena, and they usually eat into a large part of your take-home pay. Unfortunately, in this area, both buying a home and renting one costs 142.9% more than the average city. This includes stuff like home prices, rent, mortgage rates, and insurance.
The routine items you regularly buy for your home, such as cleaning supplies, personal care products, clothing basics, and kitchen essentials, make up 8% of the cost of living index. In Gardena, these items cost 11.7% more than the national average, making day-to-day living a bit more expensive.
The surge in grocery costs is indeed alarming, especially when groceries make up a large portion of your monthly expenditures. Over the past two years, there has been an inflation of over 10% in grocery prices. Unfortunately, Gardena does not fare better, with grocery expenses coming in at 12.1% higher than the national average.
Is Gardena an affordable place to live? That's a valid question to ask when you're thinking about moving to a new city. After all, how much it costs to live somewhere can be a huge factor in your decision. Affordability can be broken down into 3 common categories. The cost of living index (we talked about it earlier), housing expenses and income levels all play a big role in figuring out if a place is affordable. For instance, in Gardena, the median home price is 185.4% higher than what most folks pay across the country, and monthly rent prices are 43.7% higher than the usual rates. Income levels in Gardena come in at $95,128, which is 17% higher than the national average.
Subsidies: Certain regions may provide government subsidies or assistance initiatives designed to alleviate the cost of living burden on their residents. These programs encompass a wide range of support mechanisms, such as Medicare, Medicaid, housing subsidies, low-income home energy assistance programs, school lunch programs, supplemental nutrition assistance programs, student loans, electric vehicle tax credits, affordable care act subsidies and farming subsidies. Areas with fewer subsidy offerings might experience an elevation in their cost of living.
Housing: When everyone's vying for homes in popular areas, it drives up property prices and rents, making the overall cost of living surge. On the flip side, in less sought-after locales, where housing demand is low, prices tend to dip, resulting in a more economical cost of living. In Gardena, the housing index comes in at 142.9% higher than the national average.
Groceries: Over the past 2-3 years, grocery expenses have experienced substantial upward trends. In certain markets, food prices have surged by over 20% during this period, while others have witnessed more modest increases. These fluctuations in food costs can wield significant influence over the overall cost of living in a given region. In Gardena, the groceries index is 12.1% higher than the national average.
The Gardena cost of living estimates above use a normalized U.S. average of 100 as the baseline for comparison. Housing values incorporate local home price and rental information from the U.S. Census, while all other estimates are AI-assisted and modeled using expected everyday expenses, local market trends, climate, and transportation-related cost pressures. The results are intended for practical city-to-city comparisons.
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| Educare index |
| Median Income | Per Year | Per Month | Max Budget (28% DTI) | Max Budget (36% DTI) |
| Owners | $129,592 | $10,799 | $3,024 | $3,888 |
| Renters | $72,068 | $6,006 | $1,681 | $2,162 |
| State | General Sales Tax | With Max Surtax |
| California | 7.25% | 10.5% |
| State | Income Tax (Low) | Income Tax (High) |
| California | 1% | 13.3% |
| City | Population | Cost of Living Index | National Avg. |
| Westside, CA | 218 | 124 | 23.9% |
| Vernon, CA | 254 | 117 | 16.8% |
| Rolling Hills CDP, CA | 855 | 133 | 33.4% |
| Willowbrook, CA | 25,347 | 136 | 36.0% |
| East Rancho Dominguez, CA | 15,765 | 136 | 36.3% |
| Gardena, CA | 61,310 | 154 | 53.7% |
| City | Population | Cost of Living Index | National Avg. |
| Utica, NY | 61,299 | 96 | 4.2% |
| Ocala, FL | 61,352 | 98 | 1.6% |
| Cupertino, CA | 61,240 | 329 | 228.9% |
| Bartlett, TN | 61,391 | 104 | 3.8% |
| Lancaster, PA | 61,208 | 93 | 7.3% |
| Gardena, CA | 61,310 | 154 | 53.7% |
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