River Forest, IL Cost Of Living

River Forest cost of living index

In the event that the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used. Each cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. If the amount is below 100, it is lower than the national average. If the amount is above 100, it is higher than the national average.
Index	River Forest	Illinois	National
Cost of living index	155	99	100
Index	River Forest	Illinois	National
Goods & Services index	115	101	100
Groceries index	108	97	100
Health care index	101	101	100
Housing index	256	95	100
Transportation index	127	105	100
Utilities index	90	96	100

A general summary of the cost of living index in River Forest, IL is shown above. Compared to the state average of Illinois the cost of living index in River Forest, IL is 155, which is 56% higher than the average in Illinois and compared to the national average it is 55% higher than. The cost of living index is made up of several categories. These are transportation at 9%, utilities at 10%, goods and services at 33%, housing at 30%, groceries at 13%, and health care at 5%. The bulk of the cost of living index comes from the categories of goods and services and housing. If you look at everyday goods and services they can be a good indicator in a certain city of the general costs of goods there. In River Forest, IL goods and services come in at 14% higher than the average in Illinois and are 15% higher than compared to the nationwide average.

Did you know?

The cost of living in River Forest is 56% higher than the Illinois average.
The cost of living in River Forest is 55% higher than the national average.
The cost of housing in River Forest is 156% higher than the national average.
Illinois general sales tax is 23% higher than the national average.
Illinois state income tax is 69% higher than the national average.

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Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Use the salary calculator to compare your current salary in River Forest, IL to any other city. The salary calculator will tell you how much you would need to earn in any given city to maintain the same standard of living based on the cost of living in each city. For example, if the cost of living in the city you are looking to relocate to is higher than the cost of living in River Forest, IL, then you would need to earn more income in order to maintain the same standard of living. To use the River Forest, IL salary calculator, simply enter in the name of the new city, then adjust the slider to your current income. The salary calculator will do the rest and let you know if you need to earn more or less in the new city. You will also see a complete breakdown of the cost of living.

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, IL 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	3.75%	3.75%

The Illinois sales tax and Illinois income tax rates should definitely be considered when determining the overall cost of living in River Forest, IL. Sales taxes are taxes that are imposed onto goods and services sold. Sales taxes do vary by state and can range from no tax at all to upwards of 7%. The Illinois sales tax is 6.25% and the maximum surtax is 10.25%. Income tax is the tax imposed on income by the government. The income tax rates will vary by state and will also increase or decrease depending on the corresponding tax bracket. State income tax rates can range from anywhere from no tax at all to more than 9%. The Illinois income tax rates range from 3.75% to 3.75%.

Goods & Services

Item	River Forest	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$20.00	$16.09	24.3%
Beauty Salon	$69.87	$37.33	87.2%
Toothpaste	$2.80	$2.45	14.3%
Shampoo	$0.98	$1.00	1.7%
Movie	$13.72	$10.28	33.5%
Bowling	$8.00	$4.93	62.2%

Groceries

Item	River Forest	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.33	$3.80	13.8%
Fried Chicken	$1.28	$1.40	8.1%
Milk	$1.95	$2.01	2.9%
Potatoes	$3.79	$3.01	26.0%
Pizza	$9.99	$9.89	1.1%
Beer	$8.49	$8.90	4.6%

Health Care

Item	River Forest	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$95.00	$102.16	7.0%
Doctor	$100.00	$108.36	7.7%
Dentist	$102.33	$92.53	10.6%
Ibuprofen	$9.87	$9.28	6.4%
Lipitor	$414.41	$425.82	2.7%

Housing

Item	River Forest	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$574,600.00	$184,700.00	211.1%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,785.17	$1,202.44	48.5%
Apartment Rent	$1,215.00	$949.00	28.0%

Transportation

Item	River Forest	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.93	$2.24	30.6%
Tire Balancing	$55.00	$46.29	18.8%

Utilities

Item	River Forest	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$130.69	$165.96	21.3%
Phone	$29.99	$28.68	4.6%

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, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Hodgkins, IL	1,960	89	-11%
Hometown, IL	4,343	94	-6%
Merrionette Park, IL	1,896	100	0%
Cicero, IL	83,972	100	0%
Bellwood, IL	19,146	101	1%
River Forest, IL	11,217	155	55%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Jefferson Hills, PA	11,214	103	3%
Scottdale, GA	11,221	96	-4%
Maltby, WA	11,221	153	53%
Destrehan, LA	11,211	104	4%
Port St. John, FL	11,223	90	-10%
River Forest, IL	11,217	155	55%

Source: The River Forest, IL cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2017.

River Forest, IL Cost of Living