Tacoma, Washington Cost Of Living

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Overall 11%

Goods & Services 9%

Housing 11%

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	Tacoma	Washington	National
Cost of living	111	117	100
Goods & Services	109	110	100
Groceries	114	108	100
Health care	125	121	100
Housing	111	135	100
Transportation	127	117	100
Utilities	93	91	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Tacoma is 5% lower than the Washington average
The cost of living in Tacoma is 11% higher than the national average
Tacoma housing is 11% higher than the national average
Washington general sales tax is 28% higher than the national average
Washington state income tax is 100% 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	$74,530	$6,211	$1,739	$2,236
Renters	$35,892	$2,991	$837	$1,077

The percentage of monthly income spent on housing related expenses can help predict the affordability of housing in Tacoma, WA, as well as what the overall cost of living might be. Generally, a good rule to follow is that the debt-to-income (DTI) level you want to maintain is 28 percent or less of your income on your rent or mortgage payments and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses and debts. In Tacoma, homeowners have a median income of $74,530. Using that number, a maximum of $1,739 per month should be allocated to housing expenses. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $35,892, which means there is a maximum of $837 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

Washington Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Washington	6.5%	10.4%

Washington Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Washington	0%	0%

Goods & Services

Item	Tacoma	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$25.63	$20.27	26.4%
Beauty Salon	$37.47	$40.39	7.2%
Toothpaste	$2.97	$2.36	25.9%
Shampoo	$1.13	$1.08	5.3%
Movie	$10.92	$10.99	0.6%
Bowling	$15.00	$15.49	3.2%

Groceries

Item	Tacoma	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.50	$4.30	27.9%
Fried Chicken	$1.75	$1.40	25.1%
Milk	$1.87	$2.20	15.0%
Potatoes	$4.41	$3.22	37.1%
Pizza	$12.99	$10.74	20.9%
Beer	$10.82	$9.60	12.8%

Health Care

Item	Tacoma	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$207.49	$109.73	89.1%
Doctor	$131.82	$118.34	11.4%
Dentist	$133.02	$100.94	31.8%
Ibuprofen	$10.89	$9.93	9.7%
Lipitor	$490.67	$469.53	4.5%

Housing

Item	Tacoma	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$212,400.00	$184,700.00	15.0%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,280.67	$1,229.62	4.2%
Apartment Rent	$980.00	$949.00	3.3%

Transportation

Item	Tacoma	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.42	$2.71	26.2%
Tire Balancing	$66.22	$51.86	27.7%

Utilities

Item	Tacoma	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$140.55	$170.84	17.7%
Phone	$202.35	$187.18	8.1%

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.
Ketron Island, WA	0	111	11.2%
Midland, WA	8,730	105	5.4%
Parkland, WA	36,998	106	6.5%
North Puyallup, WA	2,002	119	19.2%
Longbranch, WA	3,314	109	8.8%
Tacoma, WA	205,602	111	11.3%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Fontana, CA	205,228	121	20.8%
Oxnard, CA	204,752	135	34.8%
Fayetteville, NC	203,670	89	11.2%
Modesto, CA	208,512	112	12.1%
Moreno Valley, CA	202,061	115	15.5%
Tacoma, WA	205,602	111	11.3%

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