Cost Of Living in Lester, IA

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	Lester	Iowa	National
Cost of living	88	90	100
Goods & Services	91	96	100
Groceries	97	97	100
Health care	103	99	100
Housing	80	73	100
Transportation	91	98	100
Utilities	84	96	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Lester is 1% lower than the Iowa average
The cost of living in Lester is 12% lower than the national average
Lester housing is 20% lower than the national average
Iowa general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Iowa state income tax is 69% 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	$72,031	$6,003	$1,681	$2,161
Renters	$0	$0	$0	$0

Iowa Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Iowa	6%	7%

Iowa Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Iowa	4.4%	6%

Goods & Services

Item	Lester	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$24.32	$24.26	0.2%
Beauty Salon	$35.22	$45.56	22.7%
Toothpaste	$3.80	$3.70	2.7%
Shampoo	$1.29	$1.28	0.7%
Movie	$9.36	$12.13	22.9%
Bowling	$16.40	$18.00	8.9%

Groceries

Item	Lester	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.89	$5.84	0.8%
Fried Chicken	$1.41	$1.57	10.4%
Milk	$4.75	$4.67	1.7%
Potatoes	$4.63	$4.93	6.2%
Pizza	$10.64	$12.09	12.0%
Beer	$9.33	$10.41	10.4%

Health Care

Item	Lester	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$135.10	$125.68	7.5%
Doctor	$177.33	$135.78	30.6%
Dentist	$108.21	$113.29	4.5%
Ibuprofen	$10.48	$10.65	1.7%
Lipitor	$357.08	$468.60	23.8%

Housing

Item	Lester	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$148,200.00	$184,700.00	19.8%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,133.89	$2,346.69	9.1%
Apartment Rent	$0.00	$949.00	100.0%

Transportation

Item	Lester	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.28	$3.46	5.3%
Tire Balancing	$49.42	$59.92	17.5%

Utilities

Item	Lester	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$141.67	$193.99	27.0%
Phone	$194.04	$192.25	0.9%

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.
Alvord, IA	213	76	23.9%
Steen, MN	139	79	21.4%
Magnolia, MN	193	79	20.6%
Inwood, IA	985	85	15.2%
Doon, IA	634	85	14.9%
Lester, IA	278	88	11.7%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Meridian, CA	278	109	8.9%
Rebecca, GA	278	80	19.6%
Lu Verne, IA	278	80	20.0%
Seaton, IL	278	81	18.6%
Star City, IN	278	67	32.8%
Lester, IA	278	88	11.7%

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 Lester, IA