Cost Of Living in Merrydale, LA

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	Merrydale	Louisiana	National
Cost of living	90	91	100
Goods & Services	105	96	100
Groceries	97	95	100
Health care	100	99	100
Housing	73	81	100
Transportation	96	96	100
Utilities	73	84	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Merrydale is 1% lower than the Louisiana average
The cost of living in Merrydale is 10% lower than the national average
Merrydale housing is 27% lower than the national average
Louisiana general sales tax is 13% lower than the national average
Louisiana state income tax is 29% 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	$39,412	$3,284	$920	$1,182
Renters	$27,672	$2,306	$646	$830

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Merrydale 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. Merrydale has a median income of about $39,412 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $920 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $27,672. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $646 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Louisiana Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Louisiana	4.45%	11.45%

Louisiana Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Louisiana	1.85%	4.25%

Goods & Services

Item	Merrydale	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$25.61	$24.26	5.6%
Beauty Salon	$43.33	$45.56	4.9%
Toothpaste	$3.63	$3.70	2.0%
Shampoo	$1.17	$1.28	8.9%
Movie	$11.59	$12.13	4.5%
Bowling	$20.00	$18.00	11.1%

Groceries

Item	Merrydale	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.45	$5.84	6.7%
Fried Chicken	$1.67	$1.57	6.2%
Milk	$4.56	$4.67	2.4%
Potatoes	$5.20	$4.93	5.4%
Pizza	$10.99	$12.09	9.1%
Beer	$10.03	$10.41	3.7%

Health Care

Item	Merrydale	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$114.13	$125.68	9.2%
Doctor	$130.33	$135.78	4.0%
Dentist	$114.58	$113.29	1.1%
Ibuprofen	$10.22	$10.65	4.1%
Lipitor	$527.50	$468.60	12.6%

Housing

Item	Merrydale	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$115,800.00	$184,700.00	37.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,958.49	$2,346.69	16.5%
Apartment Rent	$927.00	$949.00	2.3%

Transportation

Item	Merrydale	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.20	$3.46	7.5%
Tire Balancing	$61.61	$59.92	2.8%

Utilities

Item	Merrydale	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$111.88	$193.99	42.3%
Phone	$185.70	$192.25	3.4%

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.
Baker, LA	13,233	90	10.4%
Port Allen, LA	4,883	93	7.4%
Denham Springs, LA	9,908	95	5.4%
Plaquemine, LA	6,589	95	5.3%
Monticello, LA	4,926	95	4.9%
Merrydale, LA	9,523	90	10.1%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Orono, ME	9,523	104	3.5%
Helotes, TX	9,525	123	22.5%
Francisville, KY	9,520	119	18.8%
Midland, WA	9,518	118	17.9%
Countryside, VA	9,517	141	41.4%
Merrydale, LA	9,523	90	10.1%

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 Merrydale, LA