Cost Of Living in Menlo, 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	Menlo	Iowa	National
Cost of living	78	90	100
Goods & Services	95	96	100
Groceries	99	97	100
Health care	94	99	100
Housing	42	73	100
Transportation	91	98	100
Utilities	87	96	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Menlo is 12% lower than the Iowa average
The cost of living in Menlo is 22% lower than the national average
Menlo housing is 58% 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	$64,167	$5,347	$1,497	$1,925
Renters	$0	$0	$0	$0

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	Menlo	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$20.63	$24.26	15.0%
Beauty Salon	$41.00	$45.56	10.0%
Toothpaste	$3.69	$3.70	0.3%
Shampoo	$1.35	$1.28	5.6%
Movie	$11.17	$12.13	7.9%
Bowling	$20.87	$18.00	15.9%

Groceries

Item	Menlo	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.36	$5.84	8.9%
Fried Chicken	$1.38	$1.57	12.6%
Milk	$4.82	$4.67	3.2%
Potatoes	$4.81	$4.93	2.6%
Pizza	$11.84	$12.09	2.0%
Beer	$9.82	$10.41	5.7%

Health Care

Item	Menlo	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$125.17	$125.68	0.4%
Doctor	$129.05	$135.78	5.0%
Dentist	$96.60	$113.29	14.7%
Ibuprofen	$10.88	$10.65	2.1%
Lipitor	$495.45	$468.60	5.7%

Housing

Item	Menlo	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$77,800.00	$184,700.00	57.9%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,877.36	$2,346.69	20.0%
Apartment Rent	$0.00	$949.00	100.0%

Transportation

Item	Menlo	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.19	$3.46	7.8%
Tire Balancing	$52.49	$59.92	12.4%

Utilities

Item	Menlo	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$154.71	$193.99	20.3%
Phone	$186.87	$192.25	2.8%

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.
Casey, IA	420	80	19.6%
Greenfield, IA	1,736	81	19.0%
Guthrie Center, IA	1,558	82	17.7%
Stuart, IA	1,623	83	17.1%
Linden, IA	220	85	15.2%
Menlo, IA	466	78	21.7%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Ray, AL	466	98	1.9%
Reyno, AR	466	75	24.6%
Plymouth, IA	466	86	14.1%
Parker, ID	466	108	7.6%
Brewer, MO	466	94	5.9%
Menlo, IA	466	78	21.7%

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 Menlo, IA