Lancaster, California Cost Of Living

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Overall 11%

Goods & Services 12%

Housing 5%

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	Lancaster	California	National
Cost of living	111	140	100
Goods & Services	112	111	100
Groceries	116	118	100
Health care	111	113	100
Housing	105	196	100
Transportation	126	128	100
Utilities	107	118	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Lancaster is 21% lower than the California average
The cost of living in Lancaster is 11% higher than the national average
Lancaster housing is 5% 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	$66,617	$5,551	$1,554	$1,999
Renters	$32,380	$2,698	$755	$971

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in Lancaster, CA, is the percentage of monthly income that should be spent on housing expenses, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Generally speaking, no more than 28 percent of your total gross income should be spent on your housing expenses and not more than 36 percent of your gross income on total expenses, including debts. In Lancaster, the median monthly income is $66,617 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $1,554 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $32,380, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $755 on monthly rental expenses.

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	Lancaster	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$22.40	$17.49	28.1%
Beauty Salon	$68.75	$38.17	80.1%
Toothpaste	$2.49	$2.32	7.3%
Shampoo	$1.32	$1.01	30.4%
Movie	$16.10	$10.72	50.1%
Bowling	$20.33	$13.86	46.7%

Groceries

Item	Lancaster	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.32	$3.90	14.9%
Fried Chicken	$1.79	$1.40	28.2%
Milk	$2.19	$1.96	11.6%
Potatoes	$2.99	$3.18	6.1%
Pizza	$10.99	$10.39	5.7%
Beer	$9.66	$9.23	4.7%

Health Care

Item	Lancaster	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$126.40	$106.34	18.9%
Doctor	$126.00	$115.25	9.3%
Dentist	$109.40	$98.38	11.2%
Ibuprofen	$12.32	$9.26	33.0%
Lipitor	$483.87	$466.47	3.7%

Housing

Item	Lancaster	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$186,000.00	$184,700.00	0.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,944.66	$1,273.32	131.3%
Apartment Rent	$1,085.00	$949.00	14.3%

Transportation

Item	Lancaster	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.70	$2.59	42.8%
Tire Balancing	$50.20	$48.90	2.7%

Utilities

Item	Lancaster	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$184.11	$167.60	9.8%
Phone	$186.90	$163.42	14.4%

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.
Littlerock, CA	1,786	106	6%
Rosamond, CA	19,672	106	6%
Sun Village, CA	12,044	111	11%
Desert View Highlands, CA	2,484	112	12%
Quartz Hill, CA	10,291	113	13%
Lancaster, CA	159,651	111	11%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Peoria, AZ	158,677	103	3%
Corona, CA	161,614	134	34%
Eugene, OR	161,649	118	18%
Salem, OR	161,975	111	11%
Fort Collins, CO	157,251	109	9%
Lancaster, CA	159,651	111	11%

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

Lancaster, CA Cost of Living

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