Cost Of Living in Salem, GA

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17%

Overall NAT. AVG.

11%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

67%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2025 and was released from C2ER in January, 2026; 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	Salem	Georgia	National
Cost of living	83	95	100
Goods & Services	111	97	100
Groceries	98	98	100
Health care	103	98	100
Housing	33	88	100
Transportation	95	98	100
Utilities	101	100	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Salem is 13% lower than the Georgia average
The cost of living in Salem is 17% lower than the national average
Salem housing is 67% lower than the national average
Georgia general sales tax is 22% lower than the national average
Georgia state income tax is 61% 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	$50,988	$4,249	$1,190	$1,530
Renters	$21,275	$1,773	$496	$638

Georgia Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Georgia	4%	8%

Georgia Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Georgia	1%	5.57%

Goods & Services

Item	Salem	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$26.11	$27.62	5.5%
Beauty Salon	$44.90	$51.11	12.1%
Toothpaste	$4.06	$4.09	0.8%
Shampoo	$1.59	$1.54	3.1%
Movie	$12.53	$12.88	2.7%
Yoga	$17.68	$19.66	10.1%

Groceries

Item	Salem	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$7.87	$7.70	2.1%
Fried Chicken	$1.48	$1.66	11.0%
Milk	$4.68	$4.73	1.1%
Potatoes	$5.37	$5.26	2.2%
Pizza	$12.99	$12.76	1.8%
Beer	$10.67	$10.55	1.1%

Health Care

Item	Salem	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$126.50	$140.06	9.7%
Doctor	$215.48	$153.82	40.1%
Dentist	$108.44	$123.15	11.9%
Ibuprofen	$11.46	$11.73	2.3%
Lipitor	$20.16	$23.61	14.6%

Housing

Item	Salem	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$88,432.00	$326,622.00	72.9%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,630.49	$2,480.25	34.3%
Apartment Rent	$659.00	$1,444.00	54.4%

Transportation

Item	Salem	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.93	$3.06	4.1%
Tire Balancing	$59.94	$65.21	8.1%

Utilities

Item	Salem	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$225.01	$220.12	2.2%
Phone	$192.95	$195.71	1.4%

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.
Howard, GA	0	104	4.0%
Knoxville, GA	142	104	4.0%
Reynolds, GA	802	86	13.9%
The Rock, GA	98	89	11.4%
Butler, GA	2,121	89	11.4%
Salem, GA	371	83	17.4%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Pulaski, IA	371	80	19.9%
Creekside, KY	371	108	8.4%
Arcadia, NE	371	87	13.2%
Santee, NE	371	71	29.4%
Melrose, OH	371	80	19.6%
Salem, GA	371	83	17.4%