Racine, Wisconsin Cost Of Living

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B+

Overall 14%

Goods & Services 6%

Housing 35%

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	Racine	Wisconsin	National
Cost of living	86	96	100
Goods & Services	94	98	100
Groceries	95	99	100
Health care	112	113	100
Housing	65	88	100
Transportation	92	97	100
Utilities	96	98	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Racine is 10% lower than the Wisconsin average
The cost of living in Racine is 14% lower than the national average
Racine housing is 35% lower than the national average
Wisconsin general sales tax is 2% lower than the national average
Wisconsin state income tax is 62% higher 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	$56,896	$4,741	$1,327	$1,707
Renters	$27,724	$2,310	$647	$832

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in Racine, WI, is the percentage of monthly income that should be spent on housing expenses, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Generally speaking, no more than 28 percent of your total gross income should be spent on your housing expenses and not more than 36 percent of your gross income on total expenses, including debts. In Racine, the median monthly income is $56,896 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $1,327 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $27,724, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $647 on monthly rental expenses.

Wisconsin Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Wisconsin	5%	6.75%

Wisconsin Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Wisconsin	4%	7.65%

Goods & Services

Item	Racine	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$22.22	$18.62	19.3%
Beauty Salon	$41.93	$39.05	7.4%
Toothpaste	$2.24	$2.34	4.3%
Shampoo	$1.09	$1.06	2.8%
Movie	$11.14	$10.68	4.3%
Bowling	$16.27	$14.67	10.9%

Groceries

Item	Racine	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.05	$4.22	4.0%
Fried Chicken	$1.22	$1.39	12.0%
Milk	$1.98	$2.05	3.2%
Potatoes	$2.49	$3.29	24.4%
Pizza	$10.35	$10.62	2.6%
Beer	$7.84	$9.38	16.4%

Health Care

Item	Racine	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$60.00	$108.57	44.7%
Doctor	$175.40	$116.17	51.0%
Dentist	$101.10	$99.13	2.0%
Ibuprofen	$10.12	$9.68	4.6%
Lipitor	$495.33	$466.92	6.1%

Housing

Item	Racine	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$106,400.00	$184,700.00	42.4%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,168.24	$1,197.42	2.4%
Apartment Rent	$775.00	$949.00	18.3%

Transportation

Item	Racine	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.01	$2.22	9.5%
Tire Balancing	$47.04	$50.07	6.0%

Utilities

Item	Racine	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$159.26	$167.67	5.0%
Phone	$178.69	$175.64	1.7%

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.
Sturtevant, WI	6,961	90	-10%
Kenosha, WI	99,865	91	-9%
South Milwaukee, WI	21,197	92	-8%
Mount Pleasant, WI	26,237	95	-5%
Union Grove, WI	4,897	95	-5%
Racine, WI	77,931	86	-14%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Mount Pleasant, SC	77,907	129	29%
Kennewick, WA	77,975	100	0%
Gary, IN	77,858	90	-10%
Silver Spring, MD	78,038	146	46%
Bellflower, CA	77,687	132	32%
Racine, WI	77,931	86	-14%

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