Cost Of Living in Valdese, NC

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	Valdese	North Carolina	National
Cost of living	89	94	100
Goods & Services	103	98	100
Groceries	100	98	100
Health care	111	108	100
Housing	64	85	100
Transportation	94	92	100
Utilities	89	94	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Valdese is 5% lower than the North Carolina average
The cost of living in Valdese is 11% lower than the national average
Valdese housing is 36% lower than the national average
North Carolina general sales tax is 7% lower than the national average
North Carolina state income tax is 83% 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	$65,827	$5,486	$1,536	$1,975
Renters	$20,411	$1,701	$476	$612

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in Valdese, NC, 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 Valdese, the median monthly income is $65,827 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $1,536 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $20,411, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $476 on monthly rental expenses.

North Carolina Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
North Carolina	4.75%	7.5%

North Carolina Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
North Carolina	4.75%	4.75%

Goods & Services

Item	Valdese	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$18.25	$24.26	24.8%
Beauty Salon	$59.75	$45.56	31.1%
Toothpaste	$3.81	$3.70	2.8%
Shampoo	$1.27	$1.28	0.7%
Movie	$13.55	$12.13	11.7%
Bowling	$21.67	$18.00	20.4%

Groceries

Item	Valdese	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.27	$5.84	7.3%
Fried Chicken	$1.39	$1.57	11.5%
Milk	$4.61	$4.67	1.2%
Potatoes	$4.98	$4.93	1.0%
Pizza	$10.96	$12.09	9.3%
Beer	$10.47	$10.41	0.5%

Health Care

Item	Valdese	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$143.74	$125.68	14.4%
Doctor	$148.29	$135.78	9.2%
Dentist	$115.52	$113.29	2.0%
Ibuprofen	$10.77	$10.65	1.1%
Lipitor	$467.34	$468.60	0.3%

Housing

Item	Valdese	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$120,300.00	$184,700.00	34.9%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$3,159.30	$2,346.69	34.6%
Apartment Rent	$586.00	$949.00	38.3%

Transportation

Item	Valdese	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.29	$3.46	4.9%
Tire Balancing	$53.32	$59.92	11.0%

Utilities

Item	Valdese	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$167.89	$193.99	13.5%
Phone	$189.90	$192.25	1.2%

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.
Brookford, NC	474	84	16.3%
Rhodhiss, NC	993	86	14.1%
Icard, NC	2,119	88	12.4%
Long View, NC	4,898	88	12.4%
Gamewell, NC	3,874	88	11.8%
Valdese, NC	4,420	89	11.2%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Park Layne, OH	4,420	87	12.7%
Antigonish, NS	4,419	n/a
Hearne, TX	4,421	83	17.3%
Winnfield, LA	4,418	80	20.2%
Jenkintown, PA	4,418	123	22.6%
Valdese, NC	4,420	89	11.2%

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 Valdese, NC