Cost Of Living in Montecito, CA

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	Montecito	California	National
Cost of living	330	140	100
Goods & Services	105	111	100
Groceries	107	112	100
Health care	93	109	100
Housing	832	196	100
Transportation	127	126	100
Utilities	157	127	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Montecito is 137% higher than the California average
The cost of living in Montecito is 230% higher than the national average
Montecito housing is 732% higher than the national average
California general sales tax is 42% higher than the national average
California state income tax is 61% 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	$189,013	$15,751	$4,410	$5,671
Renters	$105,052	$8,754	$2,451	$3,152

The percentage of monthly income spent on housing related expenses can help predict the affordability of housing in Montecito, CA, as well as what the overall cost of living might be. Generally, a good rule to follow is that the debt-to-income (DTI) level you want to maintain is 28 percent or less of your income on your rent or mortgage payments and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses and debts. In Montecito, homeowners have a median income of $189,013. Using that number, a maximum of $4,410 per month should be allocated to housing expenses. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $105,052, which means there is a maximum of $2,451 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

California Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
California	7.25%	10.5%

California Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
California	1%	13.3%

Goods & Services

Item	Montecito	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$26.25	$24.26	8.2%
Beauty Salon	$89.33	$45.56	96.1%
Toothpaste	$3.75	$3.70	1.3%
Shampoo	$1.48	$1.28	15.6%
Movie	$18.12	$12.13	49.4%
Bowling	$22.67	$18.00	25.9%

Groceries

Item	Montecito	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.77	$5.84	1.1%
Fried Chicken	$2.63	$1.57	67.0%
Milk	$4.91	$4.67	5.0%
Potatoes	$4.90	$4.93	0.6%
Pizza	$13.49	$12.09	11.6%
Beer	$11.13	$10.41	6.9%

Health Care

Item	Montecito	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$142.20	$125.68	13.1%
Doctor	$131.33	$135.78	3.3%
Dentist	$131.50	$113.29	16.1%
Ibuprofen	$11.78	$10.65	10.6%
Lipitor	$508.17	$468.60	8.4%

Housing

Item	Montecito	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$2,000,001.00	$184,700.00	982.8%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$5,847.37	$2,346.69	149.2%
Apartment Rent	$2,355.00	$949.00	148.2%

Transportation

Item	Montecito	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$4.62	$3.46	33.6%
Tire Balancing	$61.00	$59.92	1.8%

Utilities

Item	Montecito	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$231.40	$193.99	19.3%
Phone	$193.81	$192.25	0.8%

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.
Isla Vista, CA	15,733	133	33.0%
Carpinteria, CA	13,449	181	80.6%
Goleta, CA	32,142	191	91.5%
Santa Barbara, CA	90,911	221	121.3%
Mission Canyon, CA	2,649	244	143.8%
Montecito, CA	8,210	330	230.2%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Drummond/North Elmsley, ON	8,210	n/a
St. Martin, MS	8,211	89	10.7%
Milton, WA	8,211	132	32.2%
Center Line, MI	8,212	88	12.0%
Breaux Bridge, LA	8,213	89	10.6%
Montecito, CA	8,210	330	230.2%

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 Montecito, CA