Cost Of Living in Portola Valley, 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	Portola Valley	California	National
Cost of living	342	140	100
Goods & Services	108	111	100
Groceries	115	112	100
Health care	123	109	100
Housing	869	196	100
Transportation	130	126	100
Utilities	132	127	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Portola Valley is 145% higher than the California average
The cost of living in Portola Valley is 242% higher than the national average
Portola Valley housing is 769% higher 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	$250,001	$20,833	$5,833	$7,501
Renters	$109,703	$9,142	$2,560	$3,291

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in Portola Valley, CA, is the percentage of monthly income that should be spent on housing expenses, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Generally speaking, no more than 28 percent of your total gross income should be spent on your housing expenses and not more than 36 percent of your gross income on total expenses, including debts. In Portola Valley, the median monthly income is $250,001 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $5,833 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $109,703, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $2,560 on monthly rental expenses.

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	Portola Valley	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$33.94	$24.26	39.9%
Beauty Salon	$48.51	$45.56	6.5%
Toothpaste	$3.72	$3.70	0.4%
Shampoo	$1.66	$1.28	29.9%
Movie	$13.31	$12.13	9.7%
Bowling	$33.30	$18.00	85.0%

Groceries

Item	Portola Valley	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.79	$5.84	0.8%
Fried Chicken	$2.13	$1.57	35.7%
Milk	$5.05	$4.67	8.2%
Potatoes	$4.77	$4.93	3.4%
Pizza	$14.92	$12.09	23.5%
Beer	$10.99	$10.41	5.6%

Health Care

Item	Portola Valley	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$158.95	$125.68	26.5%
Doctor	$194.05	$135.78	42.9%
Dentist	$147.78	$113.29	30.4%
Ibuprofen	$11.51	$10.65	8.1%
Lipitor	$390.15	$468.60	16.7%

Housing

Item	Portola Valley	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$2,000,001.00	$184,700.00	982.8%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$8,581.10	$2,346.69	265.7%
Apartment Rent	$3,501.00	$949.00	268.9%

Transportation

Item	Portola Valley	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$4.81	$3.46	38.9%
Tire Balancing	$65.62	$59.92	9.5%

Utilities

Item	Portola Valley	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$294.74	$193.99	51.9%
Phone	$190.07	$192.25	1.1%

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.
Loma Mar, CA	282	117	16.8%
Mountain View CDP, CA	2,585	130	30.1%
Newark, CA	48,148	197	97.0%
La Honda, CA	1,229	203	103.5%
East Palo Alto, CA	29,448	206	105.5%
Portola Valley, CA	4,568	342	242.3%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Humboldt, IA	4,568	89	10.9%
Longbranch, WA	4,568	117	17.3%
Rio Communities, NM	4,566	92	7.7%
Williamstown, MA	4,565	123	23.4%
Hollister, MO	4,564	84	16.2%
Portola Valley, CA	4,568	342	242.3%

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 Portola Valley, CA