Cost Of Living in Benton Harbor, MI

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	Benton Harbor	Michigan	National
Cost of living	78	89	100
Goods & Services	88	93	100
Groceries	98	99	100
Health care	84	93	100
Housing	43	74	100
Transportation	96	97	100
Utilities	107	101	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Benton Harbor is 12% lower than the Michigan average
The cost of living in Benton Harbor is 22% lower than the national average
Benton Harbor housing is 57% lower than the national average
Michigan general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Michigan state income tax is 64% 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	$37,656	$3,138	$879	$1,130
Renters	$17,584	$1,465	$410	$528

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Benton Harbor, MI, 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 Benton Harbor homeowners, is $37,656. This would allow for a maximum of $879 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $17,584 which would result in a maximum of $410 to be spent on rental costs.

Michigan Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Michigan	6%	6%

Michigan Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Michigan	4.25%	4.25%

Goods & Services

Item	Benton Harbor	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$19.25	$24.26	20.6%
Beauty Salon	$26.42	$45.56	42.0%
Toothpaste	$3.59	$3.70	3.0%
Shampoo	$1.14	$1.28	11.0%
Movie	$8.35	$12.13	31.2%
Bowling	$16.07	$18.00	10.7%

Groceries

Item	Benton Harbor	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.62	$5.84	13.4%
Fried Chicken	$1.38	$1.57	12.3%
Milk	$4.65	$4.67	0.4%
Potatoes	$4.58	$4.93	7.2%
Pizza	$11.14	$12.09	7.8%
Beer	$9.06	$10.41	12.9%

Health Care

Item	Benton Harbor	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$74.50	$125.68	40.7%
Doctor	$121.31	$135.78	10.7%
Dentist	$112.00	$113.29	1.1%
Ibuprofen	$10.34	$10.65	2.9%
Lipitor	$490.47	$468.60	4.7%

Housing

Item	Benton Harbor	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$59,000.00	$184,700.00	68.1%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,416.13	$2,346.69	39.7%
Apartment Rent	$661.00	$949.00	30.3%

Transportation

Item	Benton Harbor	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.34	$3.46	3.4%
Tire Balancing	$54.56	$59.92	9.0%

Utilities

Item	Benton Harbor	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$205.85	$193.99	6.1%
Phone	$184.44	$192.25	4.1%

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.
Benton Heights, MI	4,151	77	22.6%
Hartford, MI	2,588	81	19.4%
Watervliet, MI	2,082	83	17.4%
Fair Plain, MI	7,148	85	14.6%
Coloma, MI	1,315	86	14.1%
Benton Harbor, MI	9,806	78	21.7%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Inwood, NY	9,804	150	49.9%
Russellville, AL	9,803	81	19.4%
Coweta, OK	9,803	89	11.4%
Alcoa, TN	9,809	88	11.8%
East Rockaway, NY	9,810	155	54.9%
Benton Harbor, MI	9,806	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 Benton Harbor, MI