Cost Of Living in Waukon, IA

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13%

Overall NAT. AVG.

4%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

38%

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	Waukon	Iowa	National
Cost of living	87	90	100
Goods & Services	97	96	100
Groceries	98	97	100
Health care	91	99	100
Housing	62	73	100
Transportation	104	98	100
Utilities	94	96	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Waukon is 3% lower than the Iowa average
The cost of living in Waukon is 13% lower than the national average
Waukon housing is 38% lower than the national average
Iowa general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Iowa state income tax is 69% 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	$50,913	$4,243	$1,188	$1,528
Renters	$27,311	$2,276	$637	$819

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Waukon 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. Waukon has a median income of about $50,913 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,188 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $27,311. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $637 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Iowa Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Iowa	6%	7%

Iowa Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Iowa	4.4%	6%

Goods & Services

Item	Waukon	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$23.86	$24.26	1.7%
Beauty Salon	$34.11	$45.56	25.1%
Toothpaste	$3.59	$3.70	3.0%
Shampoo	$1.36	$1.28	6.5%
Movie	$8.68	$12.13	28.4%
Bowling	$15.39	$18.00	14.5%

Groceries

Item	Waukon	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.38	$5.84	7.9%
Fried Chicken	$1.40	$1.57	10.8%
Milk	$4.77	$4.67	2.1%
Potatoes	$4.76	$4.93	3.6%
Pizza	$12.46	$12.09	3.1%
Beer	$9.93	$10.41	4.6%

Health Care

Item	Waukon	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$127.39	$125.68	1.4%
Doctor	$130.00	$135.78	4.3%
Dentist	$85.78	$113.29	24.3%
Ibuprofen	$10.82	$10.65	1.6%
Lipitor	$498.96	$468.60	6.5%

Housing

Item	Waukon	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$115,200.00	$184,700.00	37.6%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,665.29	$2,346.69	29.0%
Apartment Rent	$589.00	$949.00	37.9%

Transportation

Item	Waukon	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.44	$3.46	0.5%
Tire Balancing	$68.44	$59.92	14.2%

Utilities

Item	Waukon	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$176.50	$193.99	9.0%
Phone	$187.56	$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.
Castalia, IA	169	76	23.8%
Waterville, IA	158	83	16.6%
De Soto, WI	514	84	16.5%
Postville, IA	2,528	79	21.0%
Ossian, IA	798	79	20.9%
Waukon, IA	3,663	87	13.3%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Lloyd Harbor, NY	3,663	252	152.1%
Newport, MN	3,664	102	2.0%
Trappe, PA	3,664	117	16.7%
Fraser-Fort George C, BC	3,664	n/a
Mount Repose, OH	3,661	97	2.8%
Waukon, IA	3,663	87	13.3%