River Forest, Illinois Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

F

Overall 53%

Goods & Services 13%

Housing 156%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; 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	River Forest	Illinois	National
Cost of living	153	97	100
Goods & Services	113	96	100
Groceries	104	97	100
Health care	98	98	100
Housing	256	95	100
Transportation	119	104	100
Utilities	91	96	100

Key findings

The cost of living in River Forest is 57% higher than the Illinois average
The cost of living in River Forest is 53% higher than the national average
River Forest housing is 156% higher than the national average
Illinois general sales tax is 23% higher than the national average
Illinois state income tax is 101% 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	$134,167	$11,181	$3,130	$4,025
Renters	$56,339	$4,695	$1,314	$1,690

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in River Forest, IL, 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 River Forest homeowners, is $134,167. This would allow for a maximum of $3,130 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $56,339 which would result in a maximum of $1,314 to be spent on rental costs.

Illinois Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Illinois	6.25%	10.25%

Illinois Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Illinois	4.95%	4.95%

Goods & Services

Item	River Forest	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$34.95	$20.27	72.4%
Beauty Salon	$59.38	$40.39	47.0%
Toothpaste	$2.43	$2.36	2.9%
Shampoo	$1.06	$1.08	1.7%
Movie	$14.42	$10.99	31.3%
Bowling	$20.01	$15.49	29.2%

Groceries

Item	River Forest	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.23	$4.30	21.7%
Fried Chicken	$1.85	$1.40	31.9%
Milk	$2.26	$2.20	2.6%
Potatoes	$2.75	$3.22	14.7%
Pizza	$13.02	$10.74	21.2%
Beer	$9.67	$9.60	0.8%

Health Care

Item	River Forest	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$97.30	$109.73	11.3%
Doctor	$105.52	$118.34	10.8%
Dentist	$102.17	$100.94	1.2%
Ibuprofen	$9.99	$9.93	0.6%
Lipitor	$494.12	$469.53	5.2%

Housing

Item	River Forest	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$574,600.00	$184,700.00	211.1%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,777.54	$1,229.62	44.6%
Apartment Rent	$1,215.00	$949.00	28.0%

Transportation

Item	River Forest	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.39	$2.71	24.9%
Tire Balancing	$57.48	$51.86	10.8%

Utilities

Item	River Forest	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$129.38	$170.84	24.3%
Phone	$206.73	$187.18	10.4%

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.
Hodgkins, IL	1,960	87	12.7%
Hometown, IL	4,343	92	8.2%
Merrionette Park, IL	1,896	98	2.2%
Cicero, IL	83,972	99	1.4%
Bellwood, IL	19,146	99	0.9%
River Forest, IL	11,217	153	52.7%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Jefferson Hills, PA	11,214	104	4.0%
Scottdale, GA	11,221	98	2.0%
Maltby, WA	11,221	151	50.9%
Destrehan, LA	11,211	106	5.7%
Port St. John, FL	11,223	92	8.1%
River Forest, IL	11,217	153	52.7%

Source: This data reflects 2021 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.