Cost Of Living in Benton, KY

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	Kentucky	National
Cost of living	92	90	100
Goods & Services	100	101	100
Groceries	95	101	100
Health care	88	84	100
Housing	74	70	100
Transportation	91	92	100
Utilities	121	104	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Benton is 2% higher than the Kentucky average
The cost of living in Benton is 8% lower than the national average
Benton housing is 26% lower than the national average
Kentucky general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Kentucky state income tax is 73% 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	$72,292	$6,024	$1,687	$2,169
Renters	$18,519	$1,543	$432	$556

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 $72,292 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,687 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $18,519. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $432 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Kentucky Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Kentucky	6%	6%

Kentucky Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Kentucky	4.5%	4.5%

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	$136,200.00	$184,700.00	26.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,772.15	$2,346.69	24.5%
Apartment Rent	$702.00	$949.00	26.0%

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.
Dexter, KY	130	75	25.0%
Farmington, KY	119	75	24.7%
Farley, KY	4,458	84	15.8%
Sedalia, KY	345	79	21.4%
Hardin, KY	509	81	18.7%
Benton, KY	4,498	92	7.8%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Poplar Grove, IL	4,497	100	0.3%
Louisburg, KS	4,499	98	1.9%
Royal Pines, NC	4,499	114	13.6%
New Roads, LA	4,500	92	8.1%
Whiteland, IN	4,495	93	6.6%
Benton, KY	4,498	92	7.8%

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, KY