Valdosta, Georgia Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

B+

Overall 12%

Goods & Services 9%

Housing 31%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2019 and was released from C2ER in January, 2020; 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	Valdosta	Georgia	National
Cost of living	88	94	100
Goods & Services	92	97	100
Groceries	105	99	100
Health care	100	97	100
Housing	69	86	100
Transportation	101	97	100
Utilities	97	93	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Valdosta is 6% lower than the Georgia average
The cost of living in Valdosta is 12% lower than the national average
Valdosta housing is 31% lower than the national average
Georgia general sales tax is 21% lower than the national average
Georgia state income tax is 59% 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	$51,480	$4,290	$1,201	$1,545
Renters	$22,229	$1,852	$519	$667

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in Valdosta, GA, 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 Valdosta, the median monthly income is $51,480 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $1,201 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $22,229, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $519 on monthly rental expenses.

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%	5.75%

Goods & Services

Item	Valdosta	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$13.50	$17.49	22.8%
Beauty Salon	$43.00	$38.17	12.7%
Toothpaste	$1.98	$2.32	14.7%
Shampoo	$1.00	$1.01	1.2%
Movie	$11.50	$10.72	7.2%
Bowling	$8.00	$13.86	42.3%

Groceries

Item	Valdosta	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.68	$3.90	20.0%
Fried Chicken	$1.59	$1.40	13.9%
Milk	$2.48	$1.96	26.4%
Potatoes	$4.48	$3.18	40.7%
Pizza	$9.49	$10.39	8.7%
Beer	$8.66	$9.23	6.2%

Health Care

Item	Valdosta	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$113.00	$106.34	6.3%
Doctor	$117.50	$115.25	2.0%
Dentist	$90.67	$98.38	7.8%
Ibuprofen	$10.19	$9.26	10.0%
Lipitor	$498.86	$466.47	6.9%

Housing

Item	Valdosta	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$121,000.00	$184,700.00	34.5%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,027.06	$1,273.32	19.3%
Apartment Rent	$732.00	$949.00	22.9%

Transportation

Item	Valdosta	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.51	$2.59	3.3%
Tire Balancing	$54.98	$48.90	12.4%

Utilities

Item	Valdosta	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$160.47	$167.60	4.3%
Phone	$180.90	$163.42	10.7%

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.
Morven, GA	539	79	-21%
Lakeland, GA	3,348	80	-20%
Cecil, GA	351	84	-16%
Remerton, GA	1,245	86	-14%
Hahira, GA	2,877	88	-12%
Valdosta, GA	56,717	88	-12%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Fountain Valley, CA	56,670	166	66%
Oak Lawn, IL	56,774	106	6%
Santee, CA	56,839	135	35%
Brentwood, CA	56,923	146	46%
Taunton, MA	56,504	115	15%
Valdosta, GA	56,717	88	-12%

Source: The Valdosta, GA cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2019.