Kensington, CA Cost Of Living

Kensington 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	Kensington	California	National
Cost of living index	196	138	100
Index	Kensington	California	National
Goods & Services index	122	110	100
Groceries index	126	115	100
Health care index	123	109	100
Housing index	368	196	100
Transportation index	130	125	100
Utilities index	114	114	100

A general overview of the cost of living index for Kensington, CA is displayed above. In Kensington, CA, the overall cost of living index is 196, which is 42% higher than the California average and 96% higher than the U.S. average. The following categories are used to calculate the overall cost of living index: goods/services (33%), housing (30%), groceries (13%), utilities (10%), transportation (9%) and health care (5%). From the list, it is clear that the categories of goods/services and housing are responsible for the largest portions of the overall cost of living index. As a general rule, everyday goods and services provide an accurate measure of the general cost of goods in any given city. In the case of Kensington, CA, the city's goods and services are 11% higher than the California average and 22% higher than the U.S. average.

Did you know?

The cost of living in Kensington is 42% higher than the California average.
The cost of living in Kensington is 96% higher than the national average.
The cost of housing in Kensington is 268% higher than the national average.
California general sales tax is 42% higher than the national average.
California state income tax is 55% lower 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

Use the salary calculator to compare your current income in Kensington, CA to any other city in the country. The calculator will tell you how much income you would need to make in a particular city to live at the same level based on the cost of living in each city. For example, if the cost of living in the city you are looking to move to is higher than that of Kensington, CA, then you would need to earn a higher salary in order to enjoy the same standard of living. To use the Kensington, CA salary calculator, enter the name of the new city, then move the slider to your current salary level. The salary calculator will do the rest and let you know if your salary would need to increase or decrease for the new city. You will also see a complete overview 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	$146,429	$12,202	$3,416	$4,393
Renters	$103,438	$8,620	$2,413	$3,103

How much of your monthly income goes to housing can tell you whether or not you can afford housing in Kensington, CA, as well as what the average cost of living is. 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 payment and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses and debts. In Kensington, CA homeowners have a median income of $146,429. Using that number, you will come up with a maximum of $3,416 per month that can be spent on the cost of housing. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $103,438, which means there is a maximum of $2,413 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

California Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
California	7.25%	10.25%

California Income Tax

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

When considering the overall cost of living expenses in Kensington, CA, it's important to take into account the sales tax for California, as well as the rate for income tax in California. Goods and services sold to consumers in any state have some form of sales tax. Each state has its own tax code, which means that sales tax rates vary from state to state, ranging from over 7% in some states to as low as 0% in others. The maximum surtax for California is 10.25%, and the sales tax in the state of California is 7.25%. Alternatively, the tax imposed on your income by the state government is known as income tax. The rate for this tax also varies from state to state, and your rate is affected by your tax bracket, which is determined by your level of income. Income tax rates might be as high as 9%, down to as low as 0%. The range for income tax rates in California starts from 1% and goes up to 13.3%.

Goods & Services

Item	Kensington	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$21.86	$16.09	35.9%
Beauty Salon	$69.62	$37.33	86.5%
Toothpaste	$3.23	$2.45	32.0%
Shampoo	$1.20	$1.00	19.6%
Movie	$11.67	$10.28	13.6%
Bowling	$6.78	$4.93	37.4%

Groceries

Item	Kensington	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.25	$3.80	11.8%
Fried Chicken	$1.51	$1.40	8.1%
Milk	$2.74	$2.01	36.6%
Potatoes	$3.56	$3.01	18.1%
Pizza	$12.11	$9.89	22.5%
Beer	$9.55	$8.90	7.3%

Health Care

Item	Kensington	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$120.71	$102.16	18.2%
Doctor	$138.93	$108.36	28.2%
Dentist	$122.57	$92.53	32.5%
Ibuprofen	$11.92	$9.28	28.4%
Lipitor	$416.12	$425.82	2.3%

Housing

Item	Kensington	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$805,200.00	$184,700.00	336.0%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,702.60	$1,202.44	124.8%
Apartment Rent	$1,994.00	$949.00	110.1%

Transportation

Item	Kensington	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.93	$2.24	30.3%
Tire Balancing	$60.44	$46.29	30.6%

Utilities

Item	Kensington	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$230.24	$165.96	38.7%
Phone	$24.33	$28.68	15.2%

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.
Strawberry CDP (Tuolumne County), CA	116	127	27%
Rollingwood, CA	3,231	121	21%
Port Costa, CA	228	121	21%
San Pablo, CA	29,991	122	22%
Montalvin Manor, CA	3,174	123	23%
Kensington, CA	5,602	196	96%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Lebanon, KY	5,604	84	-16%
Vinita, OK	5,599	88	-12%
Exeter, PA	5,605	90	-10%
Alma, AR	5,599	88	-12%
Avra Valley, AZ	5,606	87	-13%
Kensington, CA	5,602	196	96%

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

Kensington, CA Cost of Living