Cost Of Living in Desert Center, 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	Desert Center	California	National
Cost of living	89	140	100
Goods & Services	107	111	100
Groceries	102	112	100
Health care	94	109	100
Housing	61	196	100
Transportation	100	126	100
Utilities	84	127	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Desert Center is 36% lower than the California average
The cost of living in Desert Center is 11% lower than the national average
Desert Center housing is 39% lower 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	$32,254	$2,688	$753	$968
Renters	$0	$0	$0	$0

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	Desert Center	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$18.39	$24.26	24.2%
Beauty Salon	$45.42	$45.56	0.3%
Toothpaste	$3.74	$3.70	1.0%
Shampoo	$1.30	$1.28	1.3%
Movie	$10.13	$12.13	16.5%
Bowling	$16.95	$18.00	5.9%

Groceries

Item	Desert Center	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.30	$5.84	7.9%
Fried Chicken	$1.60	$1.57	1.4%
Milk	$4.80	$4.67	2.7%
Potatoes	$4.66	$4.93	5.6%
Pizza	$13.76	$12.09	13.8%
Beer	$10.87	$10.41	4.4%

Health Care

Item	Desert Center	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$143.04	$125.68	13.8%
Doctor	$114.67	$135.78	15.5%
Dentist	$106.22	$113.29	6.2%
Ibuprofen	$10.47	$10.65	1.7%
Lipitor	$480.00	$468.60	2.4%

Housing

Item	Desert Center	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$112,300.00	$184,700.00	39.2%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$5,184.12	$2,346.69	120.9%
Apartment Rent	$0.00	$949.00	100.0%

Transportation

Item	Desert Center	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.90	$3.46	12.6%
Tire Balancing	$41.98	$59.92	29.9%

Utilities

Item	Desert Center	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$147.65	$193.99	23.9%
Phone	$183.34	$192.25	4.6%

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.
Desert Center, CA	285	89	11.0%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Sherrill, AR	285	100	0.2%
Barwick, GA	285	80	19.7%
Kensett, IA	285	82	18.3%
Plainville, IL	285	82	18.1%
Dover, KY	285	86	14.4%
Desert Center, CA	285	89	11.0%

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 Desert Center, CA