Cost Of Living in Chehalis, WA

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	Chehalis	Washington	National
Cost of living	110	118	100
Goods & Services	113	111	100
Groceries	109	110	100
Health care	123	120	100
Housing	105	135	100
Transportation	128	123	100
Utilities	97	92	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Chehalis is 6% lower than the Washington average
The cost of living in Chehalis is 10% higher than the national average
Chehalis housing is 5% higher than the national average
Washington general sales tax is 27% higher than the national average
Washington state income tax is 100% lower 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	$79,653	$6,638	$1,858	$2,390
Renters	$33,010	$2,751	$770	$990

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Chehalis 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. Chehalis has a median income of about $79,653 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,858 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $33,010. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $770 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Washington Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Washington	6.5%	10.4%

Washington Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Washington	0%	0%

Goods & Services

Item	Chehalis	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$24.33	$24.26	0.3%
Beauty Salon	$30.83	$45.56	32.3%
Toothpaste	$3.47	$3.70	6.2%
Shampoo	$1.21	$1.28	5.5%
Movie	$10.25	$12.13	15.5%
Bowling	$13.08	$18.00	27.3%

Groceries

Item	Chehalis	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.83	$5.84	0.1%
Fried Chicken	$2.44	$1.57	55.1%
Milk	$4.86	$4.67	4.1%
Potatoes	$4.15	$4.93	16.0%
Pizza	$14.32	$12.09	18.5%
Beer	$11.62	$10.41	11.6%

Health Care

Item	Chehalis	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$155.39	$125.68	23.6%
Doctor	$188.50	$135.78	38.8%
Dentist	$117.89	$113.29	4.1%
Ibuprofen	$11.97	$10.65	12.4%
Lipitor	$517.22	$468.60	10.4%

Housing

Item	Chehalis	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$202,900.00	$184,700.00	9.9%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,126.92	$2,346.69	9.4%
Apartment Rent	$901.00	$949.00	5.1%

Transportation

Item	Chehalis	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$4.37	$3.46	26.2%
Tire Balancing	$69.72	$59.92	16.4%

Utilities

Item	Chehalis	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$126.20	$193.99	34.9%
Phone	$189.62	$192.25	1.4%

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.
Bucoda, WA	608	104	4.2%
Centralia, WA	17,473	106	6.1%
Onalaska, WA	431	107	7.1%
Oakville, WA	647	107	7.4%
Winlock, WA	1,740	108	8.0%
Chehalis, WA	7,607	110	10.5%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Emerson, NJ	7,606	161	61.1%
Hales Corners, WI	7,609	107	7.2%
Oceano, CA	7,601	137	37.3%
Homeland, CA	7,613	106	5.8%
Ojai, CA	7,613	182	82.0%
Chehalis, WA	7,607	110	10.5%

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 Chehalis, WA