Huntington Beach, California Cost Of Living

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F

Overall 70%

Goods & Services 13%

Housing 203%

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	Huntington Beach	California	National
Cost of living	170	141	100
Goods & Services	113	111	100
Groceries	114	115	100
Health care	105	113	100
Housing	303	196	100
Transportation	136	133	100
Utilities	89	127	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Huntington Beach is 21% higher than the California average
The cost of living in Huntington Beach is 70% higher than the national average
Huntington Beach housing is 203% 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	$106,340	$8,862	$2,481	$3,191
Renters	$62,310	$5,193	$1,454	$1,869

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Huntington Beach, CA, 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 Huntington Beach homeowners, is $106,340. This would allow for a maximum of $2,481 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $62,310 which would result in a maximum of $1,454 to be spent on rental costs.

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	Huntington Beach	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$22.60	$18.62	21.3%
Beauty Salon	$66.25	$39.05	69.7%
Toothpaste	$2.48	$2.34	5.8%
Shampoo	$1.17	$1.06	10.7%
Movie	$14.48	$10.68	35.5%
Bowling	$24.56	$14.67	67.4%

Groceries

Item	Huntington Beach	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.58	$4.22	8.6%
Fried Chicken	$1.72	$1.39	23.9%
Milk	$2.19	$2.05	6.9%
Potatoes	$2.99	$3.29	9.1%
Pizza	$11.66	$10.62	9.7%
Beer	$9.82	$9.38	4.7%

Health Care

Item	Huntington Beach	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$106.53	$108.57	1.9%
Doctor	$100.28	$116.17	13.7%
Dentist	$114.52	$99.13	15.5%
Ibuprofen	$11.90	$9.68	23.0%
Lipitor	$478.86	$466.92	2.6%

Housing

Item	Huntington Beach	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$659,700.00	$184,700.00	257.2%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$3,274.84	$1,197.42	173.5%
Apartment Rent	$1,686.00	$949.00	77.7%

Transportation

Item	Huntington Beach	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.32	$2.22	49.5%
Tire Balancing	$52.60	$50.07	5.1%

Utilities

Item	Huntington Beach	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$138.70	$167.67	17.3%
Phone	$176.01	$175.64	0.2%

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.
Hawaiian Gardens, CA	14,468	123	23%
Stanton, CA	38,594	128	28%
Seal Beach, CA	24,510	130	30%
Carson, CA	92,780	137	37%
Santa Ana, CA	333,605	135	35%
Huntington Beach, CA	198,724	170	70%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Shreveport, LA	198,571	90	-10%
Akron, OH	198,508	86	-14%
Glendale, CA	197,895	167	67%
Yonkers, NY	199,725	146	46%
Little Rock, AR	197,640	94	-6%
Huntington Beach, CA	198,724	170	70%

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