Cost Of Living in Watertown, MN

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B+

1%

Overall NAT. AVG.

5%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

13%

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	Watertown	Minnesota	National
Cost of living	101	99	100
Goods & Services	95	100	100
Groceries	97	98	100
Health care	101	109	100
Housing	113	100	100
Transportation	97	97	100
Utilities	95	93	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Watertown is 2% higher than the Minnesota average
The cost of living in Watertown is 1% higher than the national average
Watertown housing is 13% higher than the national average
Minnesota general sales tax is 35% higher than the national average
Minnesota state income tax is 106% 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	$108,185	$9,015	$2,524	$3,246
Renters	$28,750	$2,396	$671	$863

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Watertown 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. Watertown has a median income of about $108,185 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $2,524 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $28,750. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $671 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

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	Watertown	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$25.86	$24.26	6.6%
Beauty Salon	$37.00	$45.56	18.8%
Toothpaste	$3.62	$3.70	2.2%
Shampoo	$1.50	$1.28	16.9%
Movie	$11.32	$12.13	6.7%
Bowling	$25.68	$18.00	42.6%

Groceries

Item	Watertown	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.75	$5.84	1.4%
Fried Chicken	$1.40	$1.57	11.2%
Milk	$4.60	$4.67	1.5%
Potatoes	$4.76	$4.93	3.5%
Pizza	$13.00	$12.09	7.6%
Beer	$9.44	$10.41	9.3%

Health Care

Item	Watertown	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$112.72	$125.68	10.3%
Doctor	$164.15	$135.78	20.9%
Dentist	$95.01	$113.29	16.1%
Ibuprofen	$10.71	$10.65	0.6%
Lipitor	$499.35	$468.60	6.6%

Housing

Item	Watertown	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$236,400.00	$184,700.00	28.0%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,983.77	$2,346.69	15.5%
Apartment Rent	$731.00	$949.00	23.0%

Transportation

Item	Watertown	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.32	$3.46	4.0%
Tire Balancing	$59.91	$59.92	0.0%

Utilities

Item	Watertown	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$180.11	$193.99	7.2%
Phone	$187.59	$192.25	2.4%

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.
Winsted, MN	2,036	90	9.5%
Lester Prairie, MN	1,719	91	9.1%
Plato, MN	226	92	8.0%
Glencoe, MN	5,488	95	5.3%
Howard Lake, MN	1,897	100	0.2%
Watertown, MN	4,473	101	1.1%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
South Greeley, WY	4,473	88	12.1%
Viroqua, WI	4,472	91	9.5%
Westover, WV	4,475	90	9.9%
Sherman, IL	4,470	104	3.5%
Surfside Beach, SC	4,470	112	11.6%
Watertown, MN	4,473	101	1.1%