St. Cloud, MN Cost Of Living

St. Cloud 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	St. Cloud	Minnesota	National
Cost of living index	96	102	100
Index	St. Cloud	Minnesota	National
Goods & Services index	103	105	100
Groceries index	115	106	100
Health care index	124	113	100
Housing index	77	100	100
Transportation index	101	103	100
Utilities index	85	89	100

Displayed above is a general overview of the St. Cloud, MN cost of living index. The overall cost of living index in St. Cloud, MN is 96, which is 7% lower than the Minnesota average and 4% lower than the national average. The cost of living index is created from the following categories: goods/services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). As you can see, goods/services and housing make up the majority of the overall cost of living index. Everyday goods and services can be a good indicator of the general cost of goods in a given city. In this case, the goods and services in St. Cloud, MN are 2% lower than the Minnesota average and 3% higher than the national average.

Did you know?

The cost of living in St. Cloud is 7% lower than the Minnesota average.
The cost of living in St. Cloud is 4% lower than the national average.
The cost of housing in St. Cloud is 23% lower than the national average.
Minnesota general sales tax is 35% higher than the national average.
Minnesota state income tax is 141% 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

Use the salary calculator to compare your current salary in St. Cloud, MN 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 St. Cloud, MN, then you would need to earn more income in order to maintain the same standard of living. To use the St. Cloud, MN 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	$64,532	$5,378	$1,506	$1,936
Renters	$30,294	$2,525	$707	$909

If you want to find a good determining factor for the cost of living and the general affordability of housing in St. Cloud, MN, all you must look at is the percentage of monthly income that should be spent on housing expenses, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Generally speaking, no more than 28 percent of your total gross income should be spent on your housing expenses and not more than 36 percent of your gross income on total expenses, including debts. In St. Cloud, MN, the median monthly income is $64,532 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $1,506 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $30,294, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $707 on monthly rental expenses.

Minnesota Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Minnesota	6.875%	7.875%

Minnesota Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Minnesota	5.35%	9.85%

When considering the overall cost of living expenses in St. Cloud, MN, it's important to take into account the sales tax for Minnesota, as well as the rate for income tax in Minnesota. Goods and services sold to consumers in any state have some form of sales tax. Each state has its own tax code, which means that sales tax rates vary from state to state, ranging from over 7% in some states to as low as 0% in others. The maximum surtax for Minnesota is 7.875%, and the sales tax in the state of Minnesota is 6.875%. Alternatively, the tax imposed on your income by the state government is known as income tax. The rate for this tax also varies from state to state, and your rate is affected by your tax bracket, which is determined by your level of income. Income tax rates might be as high as 9%, down to as low as 0%. The range for income tax rates in Minnesota starts from 5.35% and goes up to 9.85%.

Goods & Services

Item	St. Cloud	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$17.00	$16.09	5.7%
Beauty Salon	$32.17	$37.33	13.8%
Toothpaste	$2.93	$2.45	19.9%
Shampoo	$1.53	$1.00	53.3%
Movie	$9.25	$10.28	10.0%
Bowling	$4.07	$4.93	17.4%

Groceries

Item	St. Cloud	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.79	$3.80	0.3%
Fried Chicken	$2.22	$1.40	58.9%
Milk	$2.29	$2.01	14.1%
Potatoes	$3.02	$3.01	0.2%
Pizza	$9.99	$9.89	1.1%
Beer	$9.79	$8.90	10.0%

Health Care

Item	St. Cloud	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$132.83	$102.16	30.0%
Doctor	$184.50	$108.36	70.3%
Dentist	$89.10	$92.53	3.7%
Ibuprofen	$9.63	$9.28	3.8%
Lipitor	$480.16	$425.82	12.8%

Housing

Item	St. Cloud	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$144,100.00	$184,700.00	22.0%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$823.98	$1,202.44	31.5%
Apartment Rent	$722.00	$949.00	23.9%

Transportation

Item	St. Cloud	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.30	$2.24	2.5%
Tire Balancing	$45.09	$46.29	2.6%

Utilities

Item	St. Cloud	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$162.68	$165.96	2.0%
Phone	$19.99	$28.68	30.3%

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.
Holdingford, MN	613	92	-8%
Foley, MN	2,654	93	-7%
Gilman, MN	216	93	-7%
Ronneby, MN	32	93	-7%
Waite Park, MN	7,371	95	-5%
St. Cloud, MN	66,770	96	-4%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Oshkosh, WI	66,713	90	-10%
Kissimmee, FL	66,840	93	-7%
Woodbury, MN	66,699	118	18%
Davis, CA	66,886	153	53%
Portland, ME	66,649	114	14%
St. Cloud, MN	66,770	96	-4%

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

St. Cloud, MN Cost of Living