Palo Alto, California Cost Of Living

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Overall 204%

Goods & Services 18%

Housing 617%

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	Palo Alto	California	National
Cost of living	304	141	100
Goods & Services	118	111	100
Groceries	133	115	100
Health care	124	113	100
Housing	717	196	100
Transportation	144	133	100
Utilities	136	127	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Palo Alto is 116% higher than the California average
The cost of living in Palo Alto is 204% higher than the national average
Palo Alto housing is 617% 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	$179,628	$14,969	$4,191	$5,389
Renters	$93,786	$7,816	$2,188	$2,814

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Palo Alto, CA, as well as the overall cost of living. As a general rule of thumb, the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for homeowners or renters should be not more than 28 percent of gross income to be spent on housing related costs and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses, including debts. The median income for Palo Alto homeowners, is $179,628. This would allow for a maximum of $4,191 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $93,786 which would result in a maximum of $2,188 to be spent on rental costs.

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	Palo Alto	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$19.39	$18.62	4.1%
Beauty Salon	$67.86	$39.05	73.8%
Toothpaste	$3.07	$2.34	31.0%
Shampoo	$1.39	$1.06	31.6%
Movie	$13.23	$10.68	23.9%
Bowling	$19.56	$14.67	33.3%

Groceries

Item	Palo Alto	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.73	$4.22	11.7%
Fried Chicken	$1.89	$1.39	36.6%
Milk	$2.87	$2.05	39.9%
Potatoes	$3.35	$3.29	2.0%
Pizza	$12.66	$10.62	19.1%
Beer	$10.57	$9.38	12.6%

Health Care

Item	Palo Alto	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$136.92	$108.57	26.1%
Doctor	$146.83	$116.17	26.4%
Dentist	$133.38	$99.13	34.5%
Ibuprofen	$12.10	$9.68	25.0%
Lipitor	$454.30	$466.92	2.7%

Housing

Item	Palo Alto	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$1,702,100.00	$184,700.00	821.5%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,736.38	$1,197.42	128.5%
Apartment Rent	$2,283.00	$949.00	140.6%

Transportation

Item	Palo Alto	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.38	$2.22	51.9%
Tire Balancing	$62.03	$50.07	23.9%

Utilities

Item	Palo Alto	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$269.40	$167.67	60.7%
Phone	$187.26	$175.64	6.6%

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.
Loma Mar, CA	150	132	32%
Mountain View CDP, CA	2,585	138	38%
East Palo Alto, CA	29,353	162	62%
Newark, CA	44,677	168	68%
Union City, CA	73,500	170	70%
Palo Alto, CA	66,649	304	204%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Portland, ME	66,649	112	12%
Camarillo, CA	66,630	155	55%
Woodbury, MN	66,699	120	20%
South San Francisco, CA	66,587	181	81%
Oshkosh, WI	66,713	91	-9%
Palo Alto, CA	66,649	304	204%

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