Mountlake Terrace, WA Cost Of Living

Mountlake Terrace cost of living index

In the event that the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used. Each cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. If the amount is below 100, it is lower than the national average. If the amount is above 100, it is higher than the national average.
Index	Mountlake Terrace	Washington	National
Cost of living index	135	115	100
Index	Mountlake Terrace	Washington	National
Goods & Services index	135	106	100
Groceries index	127	107	100
Health care index	124	118	100
Housing index	143	135	100
Transportation index	133	116	100
Utilities index	123	94	100

An overview of the general cost of living index for Mountlake Terrace, WA is displayed above for your reference. Residents in Mountlake Terrace, WA enjoy a cost of living index of 135. This index is 17% higher than the Washington average, and 35% higher than the national average. The following categories are used when determining the cost of living index for any given city: health care (5%), transportation (9%), utilities (10%), groceries (13%), housing (30%), and goods/services (33%). Clearly, housing and goods/services make up the majority of the formula for calculating the cost of living index. Because of this, the general cost of living for any given area can be estimated by looking at the cost of everyday goods in that area. For those living in Mountlake Terrace, WA, the average cost of goods and services is 27% higher than it is in Washington, and it is 35% higher than the national average.

Did you know?

The cost of living in Mountlake Terrace is 17% higher than the Washington average.
The cost of living in Mountlake Terrace is 35% higher than the national average.
The cost of housing in Mountlake Terrace is 43% higher than the national average.
Washington general sales tax is 28% higher than the national average.
Washington state income tax is 100% lower than the national average.

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Salary Calculator

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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

The salary calculator is used in order to provide a comparison of your current salary in Mountlake Terrace, WA to another city of your choice. The calculator will inform you of what your salary needs to be in any specific city in order for you to maintain your living standard based on what the city’s cost of living is. As an example, if you are seeking to move to a city that has a higher cost of living compared to Mountlake Terrace, WA, you would have to earn a higher income to maintain a standard of living that is similar. To get started with the Mountlake Terrace, WA salary calculator, input the new city’s name and then move the slider to indicate your current income. The salary calculator will now process the numbers and show you whether you need to earn more or less in the chosen city. A comprehensive breakdown of the cost of living will also be shown.

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$80,145	$6,679	$1,870	$2,405
Renters	$47,851	$3,988	$1,116	$1,436

The affordability of the housing market in Mountlake Terrace, WA as well as the overall cost of living can be indicated accurately 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 ever be used on the overall costs related to housing and no more than 36% of gross income on all expenses and debts. Among Mountlake Terrace, WA homeowners, the median income is $80,145. This indicates that a monthly maximum of $1,870 should be spent by homeowners on all housing related costs. Renters have a median income of $47,851. This indicates that renters should have a maximum of $1,116 used for their rent related monthly costs.

Washington Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Washington	6.5%	10.4%

Washington Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Washington	0%	0%

For those who live in Mountlake Terrace, WA and want to know what the true cost of living is, they ought to look at both the Washington income tax rate and the Washington sales tax rate. By sales tax, we mean the taxes that are included whenever a person is purchasing any goods or services. The amount that is taxed depends upon the particular state, where some states have a sales tax of zero percent while others can have a tax higher than seven percent. In Washington, the sales tax is 6.5%, while the most you'll pay in surtax is 10.4%. There is also income tax to consider, which is based upon the amount of money made in a year. Just like sales tax, income tax depends upon the particular state but also depends upon what tax bracket the person is in. Income tax for the state can be higher than nine percent in some states to zero percent in others. For those that live in Washington, the income tax rate ranges between 0% to 0%.

Goods & Services

Item	Mountlake Terrace	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$32.71	$16.09	103.4%
Beauty Salon	$43.43	$37.33	16.3%
Toothpaste	$3.23	$2.45	31.8%
Shampoo	$1.31	$1.00	30.9%
Movie	$12.53	$10.28	21.9%
Bowling	$5.74	$4.93	16.4%

Groceries

Item	Mountlake Terrace	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.06	$3.80	32.9%
Fried Chicken	$1.88	$1.40	34.4%
Milk	$2.03	$2.01	1.1%
Potatoes	$1.93	$3.01	35.9%
Pizza	$11.36	$9.89	14.9%
Beer	$10.81	$8.90	21.5%

Health Care

Item	Mountlake Terrace	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$145.72	$102.16	42.6%
Doctor	$124.00	$108.36	14.4%
Dentist	$132.64	$92.53	43.3%
Ibuprofen	$10.41	$9.28	12.2%
Lipitor	$438.72	$425.82	3.0%

Housing

Item	Mountlake Terrace	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$274,900.00	$184,700.00	48.8%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,183.55	$1,202.44	81.6%
Apartment Rent	$1,233.00	$949.00	29.9%

Transportation

Item	Mountlake Terrace	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.88	$2.24	28.3%
Tire Balancing	$66.34	$46.29	43.3%

Utilities

Item	Mountlake Terrace	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$190.91	$165.96	15.0%
Phone	$38.34	$28.68	33.7%

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.
Enetai, WA	2,234	123	23%
Suquamish, WA	4,259	125	25%
Port Gamble Tribal Community, WA	846	126	26%
Everett, WA	106,580	129	29%
Kingston, WA	1,859	130	30%
Mountlake Terrace, WA	20,747	135	35%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Piqua, OH	20,743	86	-14%
Lino Lakes, MN	20,758	113	13%
Ives Estates, FL	20,759	98	-2%
Sidney, OH	20,761	88	-12%
Corinth, TX	20,764	96	-4%
Mountlake Terrace, WA	20,747	135	35%

Source: The Mountlake Terrace, WA cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2017.

Mountlake Terrace, WA Cost of Living