Cost Of Living in Port Townsend, WA

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F

27%

Overall NAT. AVG.

13%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

64%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; 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	Port Townsend	Washington	National
Cost of living	127	118	100
Goods & Services	113	111	100
Groceries	109	110	100
Health care	123	120	100
Housing	164	135	100
Transportation	117	123	100
Utilities	92	92	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Port Townsend is 7% higher than the Washington average
The cost of living in Port Townsend is 27% higher than the national average
Port Townsend housing is 64% higher than the national average
Washington general sales tax is 27% higher than the national average
Washington state income tax is 100% 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	$62,444	$5,204	$1,457	$1,874
Renters	$36,746	$3,062	$857	$1,102

The affordability of the housing market in Port Townsend, WA 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 Port Townsend homeowners, the median income is $62,444. This indicates that a monthly maximum of $1,457 should be spent by homeowners on all housing related costs. Renters have a median income of $36,746. This indicates that renters would have a maximum of $857 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%

Goods & Services

Item	Port Townsend	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$26.78	$24.26	10.4%
Beauty Salon	$67.83	$45.56	48.9%
Toothpaste	$3.48	$3.70	6.0%
Shampoo	$1.23	$1.28	3.7%
Movie	$12.82	$12.13	5.7%
Bowling	$18.58	$18.00	3.2%

Groceries

Item	Port Townsend	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.76	$5.84	15.7%
Fried Chicken	$2.22	$1.57	41.3%
Milk	$4.98	$4.67	6.7%
Potatoes	$4.43	$4.93	10.2%
Pizza	$12.95	$12.09	7.2%
Beer	$11.47	$10.41	10.2%

Health Care

Item	Port Townsend	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$187.66	$125.68	49.3%
Doctor	$228.42	$135.78	68.2%
Dentist	$136.92	$113.29	20.9%
Ibuprofen	$11.80	$10.65	10.7%
Lipitor	$415.36	$468.60	11.4%

Housing

Item	Port Townsend	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$352,400.00	$184,700.00	90.8%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,731.21	$2,346.69	16.4%
Apartment Rent	$969.00	$949.00	2.1%

Transportation

Item	Port Townsend	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$4.35	$3.46	25.7%
Tire Balancing	$87.22	$59.92	45.6%

Utilities

Item	Port Townsend	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$153.78	$193.99	20.7%
Phone	$202.97	$192.25	5.6%

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	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Blyn, WA	45	115	15.3%
Sequim, WA	7,441	116	15.5%
Port Hadlock-Irondale, WA	3,329	119	18.6%
Oak Harbor, WA	23,358	123	23.0%
Coupeville, WA	1,850	128	27.8%
Port Townsend, WA	9,710	127	26.6%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
North Bend, OR	9,708	106	6.5%
Safford, AZ	9,707	98	1.5%
East Rutherford, NJ	9,707	132	32.0%
Rio del Mar, CA	9,713	213	113.4%
Decatur, IN	9,700	86	13.7%
Port Townsend, WA	9,710	127	26.6%