Poway, California Cost Of Living

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Overall 60%

Goods & Services 8%

Housing 168%

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	Poway	California	National
Cost of living	160	140	100
Goods & Services	108	111	100
Groceries	116	118	100
Health care	110	113	100
Housing	268	196	100
Transportation	130	128	100
Utilities	119	118	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Poway is 15% higher than the California average
The cost of living in Poway is 60% higher than the national average
Poway housing is 168% 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	$118,790	$9,899	$2,772	$3,564
Renters	$54,661	$4,555	$1,275	$1,640

The percentage of monthly income spent on housing related expenses can help predict the affordability of housing in Poway, CA, as well as what the overall cost of living might be. Generally, a good rule to follow is that the debt-to-income (DTI) level you want to maintain is 28 percent or less of your income on your rent or mortgage payments and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses and debts. In Poway, homeowners have a median income of $118,790. Using that number, a maximum of $2,772 per month should be allocated to housing expenses. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $54,661, which means there is a maximum of $1,275 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

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	Poway	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$20.80	$17.49	18.9%
Beauty Salon	$61.25	$38.17	60.5%
Toothpaste	$2.49	$2.32	7.3%
Shampoo	$1.39	$1.01	37.4%
Movie	$14.12	$10.72	31.7%
Bowling	$20.67	$13.86	49.1%

Groceries

Item	Poway	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.32	$3.90	14.9%
Fried Chicken	$1.79	$1.40	28.2%
Milk	$2.19	$1.96	11.6%
Potatoes	$2.99	$3.18	6.1%
Pizza	$10.99	$10.39	5.7%
Beer	$9.66	$9.23	4.7%

Health Care

Item	Poway	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$114.50	$106.34	7.7%
Doctor	$131.25	$115.25	13.9%
Dentist	$104.00	$98.38	5.7%
Ibuprofen	$12.32	$9.26	33.0%
Lipitor	$483.87	$466.47	3.7%

Housing

Item	Poway	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$583,100.00	$184,700.00	215.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,842.85	$1,273.32	123.3%
Apartment Rent	$1,497.00	$949.00	57.7%

Transportation

Item	Poway	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.79	$2.59	46.2%
Tire Balancing	$52.00	$48.90	6.4%

Utilities

Item	Poway	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$230.87	$167.60	37.7%
Phone	$173.40	$163.42	6.1%

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.
Bostonia, CA	16,295	123	23%
Winter Gardens, CA	21,255	130	30%
Lakeside, CA	21,488	131	31%
El Cajon, CA	102,894	133	33%
Crest, CA	2,733	134	34%
Poway, CA	49,675	160	60%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Ashburn, VA	49,692	148	48%
Olympia, WA	49,608	114	14%
Wheaton, MD	49,764	133	33%
Wilson, NC	49,558	90	-10%
Downers Grove, IL	49,555	119	19%
Poway, CA	49,675	160	60%

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

Poway, CA Cost of Living

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