Manchester, Iowa Cost Of Living

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B+

Overall 12%

Goods & Services 3%

Housing 43%

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	Manchester	Iowa	National
Cost of living	88	90	100
Goods & Services	103	96	100
Groceries	97	98	100
Health care	113	100	100
Housing	57	73	100
Transportation	97	101	100
Utilities	105	98	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Manchester is 2% lower than the Iowa average
The cost of living in Manchester is 12% lower than the national average
Manchester housing is 43% lower than the national average
Iowa general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Iowa state income tax is 87% 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	$63,276	$5,273	$1,476	$1,898
Renters	$24,375	$2,031	$569	$731

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Manchester 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. Manchester has a median income of about $63,276 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,476 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $24,375. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $569 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Iowa Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Iowa	6%	7%

Iowa Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Iowa	0.33%	8.53%

Goods & Services

Item	Manchester	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$19.04	$17.49	8.9%
Beauty Salon	$38.25	$38.17	0.2%
Toothpaste	$2.74	$2.32	18.1%
Shampoo	$0.84	$1.01	17.0%
Movie	$9.53	$10.72	11.1%
Bowling	$15.25	$13.86	10.0%

Groceries

Item	Manchester	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.96	$3.90	1.5%
Fried Chicken	$1.76	$1.40	26.1%
Milk	$2.19	$1.96	11.6%
Potatoes	$2.96	$3.18	7.0%
Pizza	$10.69	$10.39	2.8%
Beer	$8.91	$9.23	3.5%

Health Care

Item	Manchester	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$115.33	$106.34	8.5%
Doctor	$113.50	$115.25	1.5%
Dentist	$127.50	$98.38	29.6%
Ibuprofen	$9.15	$9.26	1.2%
Lipitor	$515.99	$466.47	10.6%

Housing

Item	Manchester	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$102,700.00	$184,700.00	44.4%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,190.88	$1,273.32	6.5%
Apartment Rent	$571.00	$949.00	39.8%

Transportation

Item	Manchester	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.57	$2.59	1.0%
Tire Balancing	$46.67	$48.90	4.6%

Utilities

Item	Manchester	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$186.17	$167.60	11.1%
Phone	$177.99	$163.42	8.9%

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.
Lamont, IA	430	77	-23%
Greeley, IA	279	82	-18%
Colesburg, IA	462	82	-18%
Aurora, IA	234	77	-23%
Masonville, IA	120	85	-15%
Manchester, IA	5,083	88	-12%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Rutherford, PA	5,083	98	-2%
Valparaiso, FL	5,084	102	2%
Gilbertsville, PA	5,084	102	2%
Kaser, NY	5,082	152	52%
Bealeton, VA	5,085	117	17%
Manchester, IA	5,083	88	-12%

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

Manchester, IA Cost of Living

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