Cost Of Living in West Reading, PA

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4%

Overall NAT. AVG.

7%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

23%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

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	West Reading	Pennsylvania	National
Cost of living	96	98	100
Goods & Services	107	99	100
Groceries	99	99	100
Health care	110	94	100
Housing	77	91	100
Transportation	108	106	100
Utilities	93	107	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in West Reading is 2% lower than the Pennsylvania average
The cost of living in West Reading is 4% lower than the national average
West Reading housing is 23% lower than the national average
Pennsylvania general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Pennsylvania state income tax is 18% 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	$59,063	$4,922	$1,378	$1,772
Renters	$30,417	$2,535	$710	$913

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in West Reading 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. West Reading has a median income of about $59,063 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,378 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $30,417. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $710 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Pennsylvania Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Pennsylvania	6%	8%

Pennsylvania Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Pennsylvania	3.07%	3.07%

Goods & Services

Item	West Reading	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$26.17	$24.26	7.9%
Beauty Salon	$40.39	$45.56	11.4%
Toothpaste	$3.77	$3.70	1.9%
Shampoo	$1.43	$1.28	11.4%
Movie	$12.52	$12.13	3.2%
Bowling	$15.56	$18.00	13.6%

Groceries

Item	West Reading	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.65	$5.84	3.2%
Fried Chicken	$1.45	$1.57	8.0%
Milk	$4.49	$4.67	3.8%
Potatoes	$5.37	$4.93	8.8%
Pizza	$11.67	$12.09	3.4%
Beer	$11.13	$10.41	6.9%

Health Care

Item	West Reading	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$123.25	$125.68	1.9%
Doctor	$177.40	$135.78	30.7%
Dentist	$118.44	$113.29	4.6%
Ibuprofen	$10.64	$10.65	0.2%
Lipitor	$469.00	$468.60	0.1%

Housing

Item	West Reading	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$122,400.00	$184,700.00	33.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,026.41	$2,346.69	13.6%
Apartment Rent	$982.00	$949.00	3.5%

Transportation

Item	West Reading	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.66	$3.46	5.7%
Tire Balancing	$68.88	$59.92	15.0%

Utilities

Item	West Reading	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$169.62	$193.99	12.6%
Phone	$195.81	$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.
Kutztown University, PA	3,898	104	3.7%
Brownstown borough, PA	799	85	15.0%
Hyde Park borough, PA	451	87	12.6%
Reading, PA	88,333	89	10.6%
Alsace Manor, PA	335	92	7.8%
West Reading, PA	4,293	96	4.2%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Roxton Pond, QC	4,293	n/a
Geneva, AL	4,292	84	16.2%
Argo, AL	4,294	98	1.9%
Littleton, NH	4,294	102	2.0%
Honesdale, PA	4,294	89	11.2%
West Reading, PA	4,293	96	4.2%