Harlan, Iowa Cost Of Living

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Overall 17%

Goods & Services 10%

Housing 44%

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	Harlan	Iowa	National
Cost of living	83	90	100
Goods & Services	91	96	100
Groceries	98	98	100
Health care	95	100	100
Housing	56	73	100
Transportation	96	101	100
Utilities	99	98	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Harlan is 9% lower than the Iowa average
The cost of living in Harlan is 17% lower than the national average
Harlan housing is 44% lower than the national average
Iowa general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Iowa state income tax is 87% 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	$55,313	$4,609	$1,291	$1,660
Renters	$22,755	$1,896	$531	$683

The percentage of monthly income spent on housing related expenses can help predict the affordability of housing in Harlan, IA, 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 Harlan, homeowners have a median income of $55,313. Using that number, a maximum of $1,291 per month should be allocated to housing expenses. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $22,755, which means there is a maximum of $531 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

Iowa Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Iowa	6%	7%

Iowa Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Iowa	0.33%	8.53%

Goods & Services

Item	Harlan	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$16.60	$17.49	5.1%
Beauty Salon	$31.57	$38.17	17.3%
Toothpaste	$1.93	$2.32	16.8%
Shampoo	$0.90	$1.01	11.1%
Movie	$10.64	$10.72	0.8%
Bowling	$15.33	$13.86	10.6%

Groceries

Item	Harlan	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.09	$3.90	20.8%
Fried Chicken	$1.89	$1.40	35.4%
Milk	$1.67	$1.96	14.9%
Potatoes	$3.82	$3.18	20.0%
Pizza	$9.99	$10.39	3.9%
Beer	$9.13	$9.23	1.1%

Health Care

Item	Harlan	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$119.80	$106.34	12.7%
Doctor	$122.85	$115.25	6.6%
Dentist	$76.96	$98.38	21.8%
Ibuprofen	$9.50	$9.26	2.6%
Lipitor	$484.42	$466.47	3.8%

Housing

Item	Harlan	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$95,200.00	$184,700.00	48.5%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,075.78	$1,273.32	15.5%
Apartment Rent	$621.00	$949.00	34.6%

Transportation

Item	Harlan	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.49	$2.59	4.1%
Tire Balancing	$48.37	$48.90	1.1%

Utilities

Item	Harlan	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$158.16	$167.60	5.6%
Phone	$191.59	$163.42	17.2%

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.
Corley, IA	29	94	-6%
Jacksonville, IA	32	94	-6%
Kirkman, IA	65	75	-25%
Irwin, IA	328	77	-23%
Kimballton, IA	339	78	-22%
Harlan, IA	5,008	83	-17%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Demarest, NJ	5,007	184	84%
Kahaluu, HI	5,009	207	107%
Auburn, IL	5,006	89	-11%
Whiskey Creek, FL	5,011	108	8%
Holbrook, AZ	5,011	90	-10%
Harlan, IA	5,008	83	-17%

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

Harlan, IA Cost of Living