Kearney, NE Cost Of Living

Kearney cost of living index

In the event that the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used. Each cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. If the amount is below 100, it is lower than the national average. If the amount is above 100, it is higher than the national average.
Index	Kearney	Nebraska	National
Cost of living index	90	89	100
Index	Kearney	Nebraska	National
Goods & Services index	89	95	100
Groceries index	96	95	100
Health care index	96	100	100
Housing index	83	76	100
Transportation index	98	97	100
Utilities index	101	86	100

A general summary of the cost of living index in Kearney, NE is shown above. Compared to the state average of Nebraska the cost of living index in Kearney, NE is 90, which is 2% higher than the average in Nebraska and compared to the national average it is 10% lower than. The cost of living index is made up of several categories. These are transportation at 9%, utilities at 10%, goods and services at 33%, housing at 30%, groceries at 13%, and health care at 5%. The bulk of the cost of living index comes from the categories of goods and services and housing. If you look at everyday goods and services they can be a good indicator in a certain city of the general costs of goods there. In Kearney, NE goods and services come in at 7% lower than the average in Nebraska and are 11% lower than compared to the nationwide average.

Did you know?

The cost of living in Kearney is 2% higher than the Nebraska average.
The cost of living in Kearney is 10% lower than the national average.
The cost of housing in Kearney is 17% lower than the national average.
Nebraska general sales tax is 8% higher than the national average.
Nebraska state income tax is 11% higher than the national average.

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Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

The salary calculator allows you to compare how much your current salary in Kearney, NE would be worth in another city. In other words, the salary calculator will adjust the figure you enter for cost of living so that you can determine how much more or much less you would need to earn while maintaining your current quality of living. If you are considering relocating to a more expensive city than Kearney, NE, the calculator will tell you how much more you need to earn so you can assess job offers more accurately. The Kearney, NE salary calculator is easy to use. All you do is enter the name of another city, then move the slider to your current income. After that, the salary calculator will crunch the numbers for you and give you the information you need about the place you are considering going. Additionally, it will show a detailed breakdown of the cost of living.

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$76,156	$6,346	$1,777	$2,285
Renters	$30,943	$2,579	$722	$928

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living is by simply calculating the maximum that a person should spend on housing in Kearney, NE, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The safest way to live in the city is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income that one earns on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Kearney, NE has a median income of about $76,156 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a person should spend a maximum of $1,777 on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $30,943. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $722 on all of their rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Nebraska Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Nebraska	5.5%	7.5%

Nebraska Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Nebraska	2.46%	6.84%

For those who live in Kearney, NE and want to know what the true cost of living is, they ought to look at both the Nebraska income tax rate and the Nebraska sales tax rate. By sales tax, we mean the taxes that are included whenever a person is purchasing any goods or services. The amount that is taxed depends upon the particular state, where some states have a sales tax of zero percent while others can have a tax higher than seven percent. In Nebraska, the sales tax is 5.5%, while the most you'll pay in surtax is 7.5%. There is also income tax to consider, which is based upon the amount of money made in a year. Just like sales tax, income tax depends upon the particular state but also depends upon what tax bracket the person is in. Income tax for the state can be higher than nine percent in some states to zero percent in others. For those that live in Nebraska, the income tax rate ranges between 2.46% to 6.84%.

Goods & Services

Item	Kearney	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$11.74	$16.09	27.0%
Beauty Salon	$25.40	$37.33	32.0%
Toothpaste	$2.54	$2.45	3.6%
Shampoo	$1.02	$1.00	2.2%
Movie	$8.32	$10.28	19.1%
Bowling	$4.97	$4.93	0.8%

Groceries

Item	Kearney	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.36	$3.80	11.7%
Fried Chicken	$1.68	$1.40	20.1%
Milk	$1.97	$2.01	2.0%
Potatoes	$2.81	$3.01	6.6%
Pizza	$10.67	$9.89	8.0%
Beer	$7.93	$8.90	10.8%

Health Care

Item	Kearney	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$92.26	$102.16	9.7%
Doctor	$103.85	$108.36	4.2%
Dentist	$80.57	$92.53	12.9%
Ibuprofen	$9.77	$9.28	5.3%
Lipitor	$456.38	$425.82	7.2%

Housing

Item	Kearney	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$159,400.00	$184,700.00	13.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,285.36	$1,202.44	6.9%
Apartment Rent	$722.00	$949.00	23.9%

Transportation

Item	Kearney	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.22	$2.24	1.0%
Tire Balancing	$43.96	$46.29	5.0%

Utilities

Item	Kearney	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$107.75	$165.96	35.1%
Phone	$41.42	$28.68	44.4%

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.
Odessa, NE	78	81	-19%
Amherst, NE	225	83	-17%
Minden, NE	2,911	85	-15%
Gibbon, NE	2,081	86	-14%
Riverdale, NE	204	87	-13%
Kearney, NE	32,709	90	-10%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
St. Charles, IL	32,745	111	11%
Rome, NY	32,673	89	-11%
Kennesaw, GA	32,669	100	0%
Eastpointe, MI	32,648	85	-15%
Tooele, UT	32,783	95	-5%
Kearney, NE	32,709	90	-10%

Source: The Kearney, NE cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2017.

Kearney, NE Cost of Living