Cost Of Living in Spirit Lake, IA

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A+

5%

Overall NAT. AVG.

2%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

11%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; 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	Spirit Lake	Iowa	National
Cost of living	95	90	100
Goods & Services	98	96	100
Groceries	99	97	100
Health care	111	99	100
Housing	89	73	100
Transportation	95	98	100
Utilities	92	96	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Spirit Lake is 6% higher than the Iowa average
The cost of living in Spirit Lake is 5% lower than the national average
Spirit Lake housing is 11% lower than the national average
Iowa general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Iowa state income tax is 69% 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	$64,688	$5,391	$1,509	$1,941
Renters	$31,187	$2,599	$728	$936

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Spirit Lake is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Spirit Lake has a median income of about $64,688 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,509 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $31,187. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $728 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Iowa Sales Tax

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

Iowa Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Iowa	4.4%	6%

Goods & Services

Item	Spirit Lake	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$25.06	$24.26	3.3%
Beauty Salon	$40.42	$45.56	11.3%
Toothpaste	$3.74	$3.70	1.1%
Shampoo	$1.45	$1.28	13.5%
Movie	$10.06	$12.13	17.1%
Bowling	$15.00	$18.00	16.7%

Groceries

Item	Spirit Lake	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.78	$5.84	1.1%
Fried Chicken	$1.41	$1.57	10.4%
Milk	$4.58	$4.67	1.9%
Potatoes	$4.68	$4.93	5.2%
Pizza	$12.97	$12.09	7.3%
Beer	$9.18	$10.41	11.8%

Health Care

Item	Spirit Lake	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$144.10	$125.68	14.7%
Doctor	$181.22	$135.78	33.5%
Dentist	$110.22	$113.29	2.7%
Ibuprofen	$11.40	$10.65	7.0%
Lipitor	$486.32	$468.60	3.8%

Housing

Item	Spirit Lake	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$163,600.00	$184,700.00	11.4%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,813.63	$2,346.69	22.7%
Apartment Rent	$859.00	$949.00	9.5%

Transportation

Item	Spirit Lake	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.31	$3.46	4.2%
Tire Balancing	$54.83	$59.92	8.5%

Utilities

Item	Spirit Lake	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$169.27	$193.99	12.7%
Phone	$191.10	$192.25	0.6%

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	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Superior, IA	250	81	18.9%
Terril, IA	343	84	16.2%
Estherville, IA	5,729	84	15.7%
Jackson, MN	3,208	88	12.1%
Fostoria, IA	180	84	16.1%
Spirit Lake, IA	5,130	95	5.0%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Westlock, AB	5,130	n/a
Daleville, AL	5,125	85	14.7%
Glencoe, AL	5,125	91	8.6%
La Crescent, MN	5,135	101	0.7%
Maplewood, WA	5,135	150	49.6%
Spirit Lake, IA	5,130	95	5.0%