Laguna Woods, California Cost Of Living

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Overall 20%

Goods & Services 13%

Housing 35%

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	Laguna Woods	California	National
Cost of living	120	141	100
Goods & Services	113	111	100
Groceries	114	115	100
Health care	105	113	100
Housing	135	196	100
Transportation	136	133	100
Utilities	89	127	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Laguna Woods is 15% lower than the California average
The cost of living in Laguna Woods is 20% higher than the national average
Laguna Woods housing is 35% 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	$41,078	$3,423	$958	$1,232
Renters	$32,413	$2,701	$756	$972

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Laguna Woods is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Laguna Woods has a median income of about $41,078 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $958 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $32,413. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $756 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

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	Laguna Woods	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	Laguna Woods	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	Laguna Woods	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	Laguna Woods	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$228,700.00	$184,700.00	23.8%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$3,274.84	$1,197.42	173.5%
Apartment Rent	$1,537.00	$949.00	62.0%

Transportation

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

Utilities

Item	Laguna Woods	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.
Las Flores CDP (Tehama County), CA	324	113	13%
Santa Ana, CA	333,605	135	35%
Midway City, CA	9,235	138	38%
Garden Grove, CA	174,676	143	43%
Tustin, CA	79,396	156	56%
Laguna Woods, CA	16,347	120	20%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Burlington, KY	16,347	96	-4%
Donna, TX	16,349	72	-28%
Morton, IL	16,343	96	-4%
Chickasha, OK	16,342	83	-17%
Uvalde, TX	16,353	79	-21%
Laguna Woods, CA	16,347	120	20%

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