Cost Of Living in Decorah, IA

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	Decorah	Iowa	National
Cost of living	89	90	100
Goods & Services	82	96	100
Groceries	95	97	100
Health care	102	99	100
Housing	94	73	100
Transportation	96	98	100
Utilities	85	96	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Decorah is equal to the Iowa average
The cost of living in Decorah is 11% lower than the national average
Decorah housing is 6% 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	$74,073	$6,173	$1,728	$2,222
Renters	$27,250	$2,271	$636	$818

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Decorah, IA, as well as the overall cost of living. As a general rule of thumb, the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for homeowners or renters should be not more than 28 percent of gross income to be spent on housing related costs and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses, including debts. The median income for Decorah homeowners, is $74,073. This would allow for a maximum of $1,728 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $27,250 which would result in a maximum of $636 to be spent on rental costs.

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	Decorah	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$19.76	$24.26	18.6%
Beauty Salon	$29.46	$45.56	35.3%
Toothpaste	$3.80	$3.70	2.5%
Shampoo	$1.23	$1.28	3.7%
Movie	$12.84	$12.13	5.8%
Bowling	$11.50	$18.00	36.1%

Groceries

Item	Decorah	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.96	$5.84	2.0%
Fried Chicken	$1.41	$1.57	10.1%
Milk	$4.80	$4.67	2.8%
Potatoes	$4.85	$4.93	1.7%
Pizza	$10.99	$12.09	9.1%
Beer	$9.73	$10.41	6.5%

Health Care

Item	Decorah	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$159.20	$125.68	26.7%
Doctor	$151.67	$135.78	11.7%
Dentist	$100.97	$113.29	10.9%
Ibuprofen	$10.30	$10.65	3.3%
Lipitor	$486.24	$468.60	3.8%

Housing

Item	Decorah	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$192,700.00	$184,700.00	4.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,073.36	$2,346.69	11.6%
Apartment Rent	$652.00	$949.00	31.3%

Transportation

Item	Decorah	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.40	$3.46	1.9%
Tire Balancing	$53.77	$59.92	10.3%

Utilities

Item	Decorah	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$147.73	$193.99	23.8%
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.
Jackson Junction, IA	89	88	12.4%
Castalia, IA	169	76	23.8%
Ridgeway, IA	258	78	21.7%
Ossian, IA	798	79	20.9%
Fort Atkinson, IA	382	81	19.2%
Decorah, IA	7,615	89	10.6%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Pulaski, TN	7,614	85	14.9%
Comox Valley B (Lazo North), BC	7,614	n/a
Homeland, CA	7,613	106	5.8%
Ojai, CA	7,613	182	82.0%
Forestbrook, SC	7,613	104	4.2%
Decorah, IA	7,615	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 Decorah, IA