Cost Of Living in Bethel, AK

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	Bethel	Alaska	National
Cost of living	129	129	100
Goods & Services	117	120	100
Groceries	124	124	100
Health care	140	148	100
Housing	156	135	100
Transportation	112	115	100
Utilities	112	158	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Bethel is equal to the Alaska average
The cost of living in Bethel is 29% higher than the national average
Bethel housing is 56% higher than the national average
Alaska general sales tax is 100% lower than the national average
Alaska state income tax is 100% 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	$111,950	$9,329	$2,612	$3,359
Renters	$64,788	$5,399	$1,512	$1,944

The affordability of the housing market in Bethel, AK as well as the overall cost of living can be predicted by what percent of the monthly income is spent on housing related costs. This is konwn as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The overall rule of thumb is that no more than 28% of your gross income should be spent on the overall costs related to housing and no more than 36% of gross income on all expenses and debts. Among Bethel homeowners, the median income is $111,950. This indicates that a monthly maximum of $2,612 should be spent by homeowners on all housing related costs. Renters have a median income of $64,788. This indicates that renters would have a maximum of $1,512 for their rent related monthly costs.

Alaska Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Alaska	0%	7%

Alaska Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Alaska	0%	0%

Goods & Services

Item	Bethel	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$28.21	$24.26	16.3%
Beauty Salon	$47.27	$45.56	3.7%
Toothpaste	$3.81	$3.70	2.9%
Shampoo	$1.31	$1.28	2.0%
Movie	$13.19	$12.13	8.7%
Bowling	$18.08	$18.00	0.5%

Groceries

Item	Bethel	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.62	$5.84	13.3%
Fried Chicken	$2.45	$1.57	55.6%
Milk	$5.09	$4.67	9.0%
Potatoes	$5.98	$4.93	21.2%
Pizza	$12.76	$12.09	5.5%
Beer	$13.48	$10.41	29.5%

Health Care

Item	Bethel	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$247.07	$125.68	96.6%
Doctor	$215.28	$135.78	58.6%
Dentist	$153.23	$113.29	35.3%
Ibuprofen	$12.38	$10.65	16.2%
Lipitor	$522.08	$468.60	11.4%

Housing

Item	Bethel	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$287,600.00	$184,700.00	55.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$3,534.94	$2,346.69	50.6%
Apartment Rent	$1,490.00	$949.00	57.0%

Transportation

Item	Bethel	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.93	$3.46	13.5%
Tire Balancing	$65.07	$59.92	8.6%

Utilities

Item	Bethel	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$232.09	$193.99	19.6%
Phone	$189.01	$192.25	1.7%

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.
Oscarville, AK	95	89	10.8%
Napaskiak, AK	537	91	9.0%
Kwethluk, AK	459	94	6.1%
Akiachak, AK	461	98	2.4%
Napakiak, AK	593	101	1.4%
Bethel, AK	6,548	129	29.4%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Tuckahoe, NY	6,548	151	50.9%
West View, PA	6,547	94	5.8%
Medina, MN	6,549	142	42.5%
Oneonta, AL	6,550	93	7.0%
Plessisville, QC	6,545	n/a
Bethel, AK	6,548	129	29.4%

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 Bethel, AK