Cost Of Living in Benton, IL

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	Benton	Illinois	National
Cost of living	85	96	100
Goods & Services	100	97	100
Groceries	95	98	100
Health care	88	95	100
Housing	50	95	100
Transportation	91	103	100
Utilities	121	89	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Benton is 12% lower than the Illinois average
The cost of living in Benton is 15% lower than the national average
Benton housing is 50% lower than the national average
Illinois general sales tax is 22% higher than the national average
Illinois state income tax is 91% 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	$53,188	$4,432	$1,241	$1,596
Renters	$27,886	$2,324	$651	$837

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Benton 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. Benton has a median income of about $53,188 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,241 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $27,886. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $651 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Illinois Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Illinois	6.25%	10.25%

Illinois Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Illinois	4.95%	4.95%

Goods & Services

Item	Benton	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$25.34	$24.26	4.4%
Beauty Salon	$44.12	$45.56	3.2%
Toothpaste	$3.70	$3.70	0.0%
Shampoo	$1.23	$1.28	3.9%
Movie	$13.11	$12.13	8.1%
Bowling	$16.17	$18.00	10.2%

Groceries

Item	Benton	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.74	$5.84	1.8%
Fried Chicken	$1.37	$1.57	13.2%
Milk	$4.50	$4.67	3.7%
Potatoes	$5.13	$4.93	3.9%
Pizza	$11.24	$12.09	7.0%
Beer	$9.75	$10.41	6.4%

Health Care

Item	Benton	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$94.06	$125.68	25.2%
Doctor	$105.07	$135.78	22.6%
Dentist	$103.51	$113.29	8.6%
Ibuprofen	$10.26	$10.65	3.7%
Lipitor	$470.38	$468.60	0.4%

Housing

Item	Benton	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$75,700.00	$184,700.00	59.0%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,772.15	$2,346.69	24.5%
Apartment Rent	$663.00	$949.00	30.1%

Transportation

Item	Benton	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.25	$3.46	6.1%
Tire Balancing	$50.23	$59.92	16.2%

Utilities

Item	Benton	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$259.32	$193.99	33.7%
Phone	$189.86	$192.25	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.
Mulkeytown, IL	128	94	5.9%
Hurst, IL	756	76	23.9%
Zeigler, IL	1,779	77	23.3%
Bush, IL	303	77	23.2%
Orient, IL	434	81	18.5%
Benton, IL	6,977	85	15.0%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Decatur, TX	6,976	106	5.5%
Oak Ridge, NC	6,979	134	34.4%
Old Greenwich, CT	6,980	282	182.1%
King, NC	6,980	96	4.0%
Great Neck Plaza, NY	6,980	145	44.9%
Benton, IL	6,977	85	15.0%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

Cost of Living in Benton, IL