Long Beach, California Cost Of Living

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F

Overall 41%

Goods & Services 13%

Housing 106%

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	Long Beach	California	National
Cost of living	141	141	100
Goods & Services	113	111	100
Groceries	114	115	100
Health care	105	113	100
Housing	206	196	100
Transportation	136	133	100
Utilities	89	127	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Long Beach is equal to the California average
The cost of living in Long Beach is 41% higher than the national average
Long Beach housing is 106% 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	$87,777	$7,315	$2,048	$2,634
Renters	$40,856	$3,405	$953	$1,226

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Long Beach 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. Long Beach has a median income of about $87,777 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $2,048 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $40,856. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $953 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	Long 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	Long 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	Long 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	Long Beach	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$448,800.00	$184,700.00	143.0%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$3,274.84	$1,197.42	173.5%
Apartment Rent	$1,150.00	$949.00	21.2%

Transportation

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

Utilities

Item	Long 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.
Willowbrook, CA	22,035	121	21%
Florence-Graham, CA	63,390	122	22%
Compton, CA	97,740	122	22%
East Rancho Dominguez, CA	15,887	124	24%
West Rancho Dominguez, CA	22,724	125	25%
Long Beach, CA	469,793	141	41%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Mesa, AZ	470,456	97	-3%
Kansas City, MO	471,767	92	-8%
Atlanta, GA	456,378	105	5%
Sacramento, CA	484,530	121	21%
Virginia Beach, VA	449,733	116	16%
Long Beach, CA	469,793	141	41%

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