Cost of Living in Pekin, IL

An Overview of Cost of Living in Pekin, IL

The cost of living in Pekin affects the quality of life one can afford in this new location. It allows people to assess whether they can maintain their preferred lifestyle, including housing, leisure activities and dining options. Your total monthly expenditures can varry depending on the area, as well as many other factors. The cost of living in Pekin is 85, which is 15% lower than the national average. Knowledge of the cost of living can help individuals make informed decisions about retirement savings, investments, and financial goals.

What Do Locals Say About the Cost of Living in Pekin?

The real experts on a city are its residents. That's why we reached out to 6 locals to get their views on the cost of living in Pekin. We surveyed the residents and asked them if they felt like prices were affordable or out of reach. The results were as follows. 17% found it budget-friendly with decreasing prices, while 83% said it's simply not affordable as prices have continued to rise.

Is Pekin Affordable?

Is Pekin an affordable place to live? That's a valid question to ask when you're thinking about moving to a new city. After all, how much it costs to live somewhere can be a huge factor in your decision. Affordability can be broken down into 3 common categories. The cost of living index (we talked about it earlier), housing expenses and income levels all play a big role in figuring out if a place is affordable. For instance, in Pekin, the median home price is 43.7% lower than what most folks pay across the country, and monthly rent prices are 29.3% lower than the usual rates. Income levels in Pekin come in at $50,552, which is 8.6% lower than the national average.

What Factors can Influence the Cost of Living in Pekin?

Housing: A sought-after location with high housing demand often leads to increased property values and rental rates, which can significantly inflate the overall cost of living. Conversely, areas with low housing demand, particularly in less desirable locales, tend to experience the opposite effect, causing prices to drop and contributing to a more affordable cost of living. In Pekin, the housing index stands at 39.4% lower than the national average.

Transportation: If public transportation is limited or not available, residents may need to own and maintain vehicles, which can add to the cost of living. Gas, insurance, regular maintenance and potentially lease or finance payments will all need to be paid on a monthly basis. In Pekin, the transportation index is 1.2% higher than the national average.

Taxes: Regions that impose higher taxes, including sales and income taxes, can contribute to an increased cost of living. Higher taxes for everyday necessities such as clothing, utilities and food inevitably leads to higher expenditures. Additionally, a higher income tax rate can also play a role in elevating the overall cost of living. In Pekin, the prevailing sales tax rate starts at 6.25%, and income tax rates kick off at 4.95%.

Where is the Data From?

The Pekin cost of living data displayed above is derived from the C2ER cost of living index to provide a useful and reasonably accurate measure of living cost differences in urban areas. The index takes into account data from 300 independent researches, covering more than 60 goods and services across 6 different categories, to create an overall index for each area, with 100 being the average. The C2ER index does not include sales or income tax rates in their data, however AreaVibes does include both income and sales tax rates in the overall cost of living score for each area.