St. Cloud, Minnesota Cost Of Living

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D+

Overall 0%

Goods & Services 16%

Housing 23%

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	St. Cloud	Minnesota	National
Cost of living	100	103	100
Goods & Services	116	108	100
Groceries	108	104	100
Health care	120	107	100
Housing	77	100	100
Transportation	100	99	100
Utilities	100	97	100

Key findings

The cost of living in St. Cloud is 3% lower than the Minnesota average
The cost of living in St. Cloud is equal to the national average
St. Cloud housing is 23% lower than the national average
Minnesota general sales tax is 35% higher than the national average
Minnesota state income tax is 117% 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	$64,532	$5,378	$1,506	$1,936
Renters	$30,294	$2,525	$707	$909

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in St. Cloud, MN, 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, 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%

Goods & Services

Item	St. Cloud	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$23.17	$20.27	14.3%
Beauty Salon	$36.64	$40.39	9.3%
Toothpaste	$2.83	$2.36	20.1%
Shampoo	$1.49	$1.08	38.7%
Movie	$12.09	$10.99	10.0%
Bowling	$20.17	$15.49	30.2%

Groceries

Item	St. Cloud	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.55	$4.30	5.8%
Fried Chicken	$1.88	$1.40	34.6%
Milk	$2.37	$2.20	7.6%
Potatoes	$3.10	$3.22	3.8%
Pizza	$11.57	$10.74	7.8%
Beer	$9.18	$9.60	4.4%

Health Care

Item	St. Cloud	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$115.79	$109.73	5.5%
Doctor	$196.36	$118.34	65.9%
Dentist	$103.34	$100.94	2.4%
Ibuprofen	$10.85	$9.93	9.3%
Lipitor	$531.06	$469.53	13.1%

Housing

Item	St. Cloud	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$144,100.00	$184,700.00	22.0%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,081.52	$1,229.62	12.0%
Apartment Rent	$722.00	$949.00	23.9%

Transportation

Item	St. Cloud	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.59	$2.71	4.6%
Tire Balancing	$56.28	$51.86	8.5%

Utilities

Item	St. Cloud	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$171.41	$170.84	0.3%
Phone	$184.86	$187.18	1.2%

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.
Holdingford, MN	613	96	3.7%
Foley, MN	2,654	97	2.6%
Gilman, MN	216	98	2.4%
Ronneby, MN	32	98	1.9%
Waite Park, MN	7,371	100	0.3%
St. Cloud, MN	66,770	100	0.3%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Oshkosh, WI	66,713	92	7.6%
Kissimmee, FL	66,840	95	4.8%
Woodbury, MN	66,699	119	19.2%
Davis, CA	66,886	155	54.8%
Palo Alto, CA	66,649	303	203.1%
St. Cloud, MN	66,770	100	0.3%

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