Cost Of Living in Margaret, AL

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	Margaret	Alabama	National
Cost of living	92	88	100
Goods & Services	98	96	100
Groceries	97	96	100
Health care	94	87	100
Housing	77	72	100
Transportation	91	91	100
Utilities	108	102	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Margaret is 4% higher than the Alabama average
The cost of living in Margaret is 8% lower than the national average
Margaret housing is 23% lower than the national average
Alabama general sales tax is 22% lower than the national average
Alabama state income tax is 23% 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	$61,509	$5,126	$1,435	$1,845
Renters	$41,996	$3,500	$980	$1,260

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Margaret is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Margaret has a median income of about $61,509 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,435 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $41,996. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $980 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Alabama Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Alabama	4%	13.5%

Alabama Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Alabama	2%	5%

Goods & Services

Item	Margaret	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$20.07	$24.26	17.3%
Beauty Salon	$45.74	$45.56	0.4%
Toothpaste	$3.76	$3.70	1.6%
Shampoo	$1.33	$1.28	4.1%
Movie	$12.54	$12.13	3.3%
Bowling	$16.37	$18.00	9.1%

Groceries

Item	Margaret	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.01	$5.84	3.0%
Fried Chicken	$1.66	$1.57	5.5%
Milk	$4.54	$4.67	2.9%
Potatoes	$5.23	$4.93	6.0%
Pizza	$10.99	$12.09	9.1%
Beer	$10.40	$10.41	0.1%

Health Care

Item	Margaret	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$92.33	$125.68	26.5%
Doctor	$101.83	$135.78	25.0%
Dentist	$125.78	$113.29	11.0%
Ibuprofen	$10.28	$10.65	3.5%
Lipitor	$460.79	$468.60	1.7%

Housing

Item	Margaret	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$159,600.00	$184,700.00	13.6%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,935.73	$2,346.69	17.5%
Apartment Rent	$535.00	$949.00	43.6%

Transportation

Item	Margaret	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.13	$3.46	9.7%
Tire Balancing	$54.52	$59.92	9.0%

Utilities

Item	Margaret	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$219.40	$193.99	13.1%
Phone	$188.55	$192.25	1.9%

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.
County Line, AL	297	86	14.2%
Center Point, AL	15,971	88	12.0%
Grayson Valley, AL	5,808	90	9.9%
Vandiver, AL	914	90	9.6%
Odenville, AL	3,705	91	8.9%
Margaret, AL	4,905	92	8.4%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Salem, MO	4,904	79	20.7%
Pleasant Garden, NC	4,906	93	6.7%
Winona Lake, IN	4,902	95	4.9%
East Moriches, NY	4,902	146	46.1%
Kneehill County, AB	4,902	n/a
Margaret, AL	4,905	92	8.4%

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 Margaret, AL