Red Oak, Iowa Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

A

Overall 20%

Goods & Services 10%

Housing 53%

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	Red Oak	Iowa	National
Cost of living	80	90	100
Goods & Services	91	96	100
Groceries	98	98	100
Health care	95	100	100
Housing	47	73	100
Transportation	96	101	100
Utilities	99	98	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Red Oak is 11% lower than the Iowa average
The cost of living in Red Oak is 20% lower than the national average
Red Oak housing is 53% lower than the national average
Iowa general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Iowa state income tax is 87% lower than the national average

Most Affordable Places to Live in and Around Red Oak

See all the best places to live around Red Oak

Compare Red Oak, IA Cost of Living

See all Red Oak poll results

The best places in Iowa

Here are the best places to live in Iowa

See the best places to live in & around Red Oak

Top 10 cities in Iowa with the best education system

Check out the 10 safest cities in Iowa

Salary Calculator

This is how much you would need to earn in

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	$45,761	$3,813	$1,068	$1,373
Renters	$23,417	$1,951	$546	$703

The percentage of monthly income spent on housing related expenses can help predict the affordability of housing in Red Oak, IA, 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 Red Oak, homeowners have a median income of $45,761. Using that number, a maximum of $1,068 per month should be allocated to housing expenses. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $23,417, which means there is a maximum of $546 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

Iowa Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Iowa	6%	7%

Iowa Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Iowa	0.33%	8.53%

Goods & Services

Item	Red Oak	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$16.60	$17.49	5.1%
Beauty Salon	$31.57	$38.17	17.3%
Toothpaste	$1.93	$2.32	16.8%
Shampoo	$0.90	$1.01	11.1%
Movie	$10.64	$10.72	0.8%
Bowling	$15.33	$13.86	10.6%

Groceries

Item	Red Oak	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.09	$3.90	20.8%
Fried Chicken	$1.89	$1.40	35.4%
Milk	$1.67	$1.96	14.9%
Potatoes	$3.82	$3.18	20.0%
Pizza	$9.99	$10.39	3.9%
Beer	$9.13	$9.23	1.1%

Health Care

Item	Red Oak	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$119.80	$106.34	12.7%
Doctor	$122.85	$115.25	6.6%
Dentist	$76.96	$98.38	21.8%
Ibuprofen	$9.50	$9.26	2.6%
Lipitor	$484.42	$466.47	3.8%

Housing

Item	Red Oak	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$72,500.00	$184,700.00	60.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,075.78	$1,273.32	15.5%
Apartment Rent	$632.00	$949.00	33.4%

Transportation

Item	Red Oak	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.49	$2.59	4.1%
Tire Balancing	$48.37	$48.90	1.1%

Utilities

Item	Red Oak	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$158.16	$167.60	5.6%
Phone	$191.59	$163.42	17.2%

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.
Imogene, IA	35	94	-6%
Hepburn, IA	30	71	-29%
Grant, IA	108	72	-28%
Coburg, IA	58	73	-27%
Henderson, IA	147	76	-24%
Red Oak, IA	5,547	80	-20%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Weldon Spring, MO	5,545	120	20%
Holdrege, NE	5,545	82	-18%
Solvang, CA	5,552	171	71%
Fruitridge Pocket, CA	5,554	105	5%
Pecan Plantation, TX	5,555	100	0%
Red Oak, IA	5,547	80	-20%

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

Red Oak, IA Cost of Living