Cost Of Living in California, PA

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	California	Pennsylvania	National
Cost of living	89	98	100
Goods & Services	93	99	100
Groceries	100	99	100
Health care	91	94	100
Housing	63	91	100
Transportation	107	106	100
Utilities	125	107	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in California is 9% lower than the Pennsylvania average
The cost of living in California is 11% lower than the national average
California housing is 37% lower than the national average
Pennsylvania general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Pennsylvania state income tax is 18% 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	$73,793	$6,149	$1,722	$2,214
Renters	$25,061	$2,088	$585	$752

The affordability of the housing market in California, PA as well as the overall cost of living can be predicted by what percent of the monthly income is spent on housing related costs. This is konwn as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The overall rule of thumb is that no more than 28% of your gross income should be spent on the overall costs related to housing and no more than 36% of gross income on all expenses and debts. Among California homeowners, the median income is $73,793. This indicates that a monthly maximum of $1,722 should be spent by homeowners on all housing related costs. Renters have a median income of $25,061. This indicates that renters would have a maximum of $585 for their rent related monthly costs.

Pennsylvania Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Pennsylvania	6%	8%

Pennsylvania Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Pennsylvania	3.07%	3.07%

Goods & Services

Item	California	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$23.73	$24.26	2.2%
Beauty Salon	$40.40	$45.56	11.3%
Toothpaste	$3.72	$3.70	0.6%
Shampoo	$1.39	$1.28	8.5%
Movie	$11.77	$12.13	3.0%
Bowling	$16.24	$18.00	9.8%

Groceries

Item	California	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.70	$5.84	2.3%
Fried Chicken	$1.41	$1.57	10.6%
Milk	$4.52	$4.67	3.2%
Potatoes	$5.47	$4.93	10.8%
Pizza	$12.83	$12.09	6.2%
Beer	$10.58	$10.41	1.6%

Health Care

Item	California	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$109.26	$125.68	13.1%
Doctor	$100.92	$135.78	25.7%
Dentist	$110.50	$113.29	2.5%
Ibuprofen	$10.45	$10.65	1.9%
Lipitor	$502.54	$468.60	7.2%

Housing

Item	California	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$111,300.00	$184,700.00	39.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,225.61	$2,346.69	5.2%
Apartment Rent	$648.00	$949.00	31.7%

Transportation

Item	California	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.73	$3.46	7.6%
Tire Balancing	$64.05	$59.92	6.9%

Utilities

Item	California	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$270.68	$193.99	39.5%
Phone	$196.77	$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.
Webster, PA	78	101	0.8%
Van Voorhis, PA	478	101	0.8%
Buffington, PA	89	95	5.2%
Nemacolin, PA	943	95	5.2%
Naomi, PA	52	101	0.8%
California, PA	6,306	89	10.6%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Walkersville, MD	6,306	125	25.0%
Deschutes River Woods, OR	6,305	125	24.7%
Huntington Woods, MI	6,303	134	33.9%
Clarenville, NL	6,303	n/a
Rancho Calaveras, CA	6,310	133	33.0%
California, PA	6,306	89	10.6%

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 California, PA