Marshalltown, Iowa Cost Of Living

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B+

Overall 13%

Goods & Services 1%

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	Marshalltown	Iowa	National
Cost of living	87	90	100
Goods & Services	101	96	100
Groceries	99	98	100
Health care	101	100	100
Housing	57	73	100
Transportation	103	101	100
Utilities	90	98	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Marshalltown is 4% lower than the Iowa average
The cost of living in Marshalltown is 13% lower than the national average
Marshalltown 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	$57,484	$4,790	$1,341	$1,725
Renters	$33,566	$2,797	$783	$1,007

The affordability of the housing market in Marshalltown, IA as well as the overall cost of living can be predicted by what percent of the monthly income is spent on housing related costs. This is konwn as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The overall rule of thumb is that no more than 28% of your gross income should be spent on the overall costs related to housing and no more than 36% of gross income on all expenses and debts. Among Marshalltown homeowners, the median income is $57,484. This indicates that a monthly maximum of $1,341 should be spent by homeowners on all housing related costs. Renters have a median income of $33,566. This indicates that renters would have a maximum of $783 for their rent related monthly costs.

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	Marshalltown	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$21.60	$17.49	23.5%
Beauty Salon	$30.25	$38.17	20.8%
Toothpaste	$2.52	$2.32	8.6%
Shampoo	$1.19	$1.01	17.6%
Movie	$8.63	$10.72	19.5%
Bowling	$17.50	$13.86	26.3%

Groceries

Item	Marshalltown	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.78	$3.90	3.1%
Fried Chicken	$1.62	$1.40	16.1%
Milk	$2.04	$1.96	4.0%
Potatoes	$2.70	$3.18	15.2%
Pizza	$9.76	$10.39	6.1%
Beer	$8.56	$9.23	7.3%

Health Care

Item	Marshalltown	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$109.50	$106.34	3.0%
Doctor	$122.00	$115.25	5.9%
Dentist	$92.75	$98.38	5.7%
Ibuprofen	$9.41	$9.26	1.6%
Lipitor	$517.06	$466.47	10.8%

Housing

Item	Marshalltown	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$98,800.00	$184,700.00	46.5%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,350.51	$1,273.32	6.1%
Apartment Rent	$633.00	$949.00	33.3%

Transportation

Item	Marshalltown	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.59	$2.59	0.1%
Tire Balancing	$53.96	$48.90	10.4%

Utilities

Item	Marshalltown	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$139.59	$167.60	16.7%
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.
Green Mountain, IA	120	75	-25%
Liscomb, IA	291	81	-19%
Union, IA	487	82	-18%
Laurel, IA	358	82	-18%
Ferguson, IA	137	82	-18%
Marshalltown, IA	27,637	87	-13%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Garner, NC	27,625	96	-4%
Kirkwood, MO	27,614	107	7%
Crofton, MD	27,663	140	40%
Forest Hills, MI	27,667	112	12%
Maywood, CA	27,672	126	26%
Marshalltown, IA	27,637	87	-13%

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

Marshalltown, IA Cost of Living

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