Cost of Living
 

We've touched on it in a bunch of other threads, and I was curious, so I figured I'd create a new thread.

What is the cost of living like in your area?
How much is say -
1. a 1br apartment
2. a starter home?
3. What's the average salary (across occupations)?

I've noticed some of you in NY or Cali have 1brs that cost more than what I make in a month! I have to wonder if salaries are proportionate.. you know... I'm a secretary and I make X amount in Wisconsin... if a secretary in NY would make 2X.

Here in Milwaukee:

1. A 1br in an "average" part of town (not sleazy, but not super-trendy) will run you about $450/month
2. A starter home is about $90k - 120k
3. Average salary is about $37,000 (here is a link that lists avg. incomes for most major cities, even if it is a little outdated)

i'm not sure about the exact numbers in sd....but it is high.
a 1 bedroom apartment in sd can range from 800-1500 a month
an average family home can start at 300,000
and i have no idea how much people make....

1. 1 bedroom apt...... about $750 per month
2. A starter house goes for about 200k.
3. Average income according to your link was 55k in 1997.



Note. 1 and 2 are guestimates

Canadian estimates
 

I live downtown Ottawa, which is the 3rd most expensive city in Canada to live in.

In my area, the average 1 br. would run around 900/month.

A starter house would probably start in the low 200s...i'm not sure where to find some statistics on incomes related to region.

This is pretty much the same in DC. I believe that San Diego has the most expensive cost of living with DC in 2nd. But I don't think you can find a 1 BR apt here for under $1,000 (at least not that I'm aware of)

Where did you get that info? The only city to make it onto the world survey of costliest cities is NYC at number 10.

"New York remains the costliest city in North America, occupying 10th position in the rankings. Other expensive cities include Los Angeles, ranked at 22 (score 85.6), Chicago ranked at 25, (83.9), Miami in 27th place (83.7), and San Francisco at position 30 (83). "

-Rudey
--The only thing that might make DC that expensive to live in is the rising cost of crack rock.

I live in Chicago.

I'd say a 1 bedroom runs around 850+.

I have no idea about homes because there are the poor sections of the southside right next to the expensive neighborhoods but I don't think a small home in a not so crappy neighborhood would run more than 250K.

And I don't know what average salary is so I'll just say 45K until someone figures out what it'd be.

-Rudey

1 bedrooms in ATL can run from 400 to 1200 depending on the area.

A small starter home around 100k but that also depends on the area.

In the Annapolis/Baltimore area, the costs vary wildly depending on two things: the quality of the schools and/or whether the property is near the water. Here are the stats for my little town, which is right outside of Annapolis:

One Bedroom Apartment: Around $1,000 - $1,200 a month

Starter Home: Not sure what a starter home would run, but the average home sold for $325,880 last year.

Average Income: $81,565

according to census information , it looks like Median household income for San Diego was about $39,500 and Chicago was $40,100

Fairfield County, CT:

1-bedroom apartment goes for around $1300-$1500/mo.
A modest starter home goes for around $200K.
Median household income (according to the link you posted) was $56,872 in 1997.

I know a lot of families where the wife is a stay at home mom. I have no idea how they can pay the bills every month on one income, unless they all have rich dead uncles...

ETA: Those housing numbers are for northern Fairfield County. Go to southern Fairfield County (locations commutable to NYC) and the cost of a house doubles or more.

Well, after looking at the census data, it proved what I already knew: I live in the best place possible in Louisiana (St. Tammany Parish).

I'm not really sure what an apartment rents for around here; mostly everyone owns their home.

A starter home runs about 120K or so. FI and I just bought a condo for 118,500. It's tiny (2 br), but in a really nice (read: gated, golf club) neighborhood. The units rent for 1200-1500 a month in our group.

Median income (according to the census data) was around 43,000; the highest in Louisiana. It's like being the smartest kid on the short bus. Yeah, we're better than the rest, but what do we have to compare to?

Ginger already posted the numbers for Milwaukee, which are pretty accurate.

I'm originally from a far west suburb of Milwaukee, and the numbers there:

One-bedroom apt: $650ish
Starter home: $175k
Average income: $61k

Denver got pretty expensive while it started to grow rapidly during the tech boom. I think it's going back down slowly.

Rent: I'd say $600-$700 to live anywhere decent/marginally trendy
Starter home: An okay townhouse or condo will start at $150 with a nice house running more like $200
Average income: I don't know what average is.

a nice 1 bedroom apt in Austin is 850-1100$ per month depending on area you live in.
don't know what the average salary is
the houses in my neiborhood go from 265,000-500,000$ or more
I am not sure what a "starter" home would go for (or what your definition of a starter home is)