Cost of living in 32 of the biggest Midwestern cities
Madison Hoff,Cork Gaines
- Chicago had the highest Cost of Living Index score among 32 Midwestern cities.
- Of the 32 Midwestern urban areas examined, 29 fell below the national average.
Chicago is the most expensive place to live in the Midwest based on a cost of living index for the third quarter. However, the vast majority of the 32 large Midwestern cities included in the study are cheaper than the national average.
The Council for Community and Economic Research, or C2ER, released its quarterly Cost of Living Index in October. The index is based on six categories: housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, healthcare, and miscellaneous goods and services.
"The Cost of Living Index measures regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures, for professional and managerial households in the top income quintile," the press release said.
Of the 269 urban areas to participate during the most recent C2ER study, 63 are from 12 Midwestern states — Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. We narrowed that list down to the 32 largest cities among the 63 Midwestern places with an index for the third quarter based on their population sizes.
Business Insider previously looked at the cost of living for places in Florida, Texas, and California. In California all 10 urban areas in the third quarter's analysis had an index score larger than 100. That means these California places were more expensive than the national average among cities in the study.
In the Midwest, only two cities — Chicago and Detroit — were above the national average. A third, Milwaukee, was right at 100. At the other end, Springfield, Missouri, had a cost of living 15.5% below the average at 84.5.
Below are the 32 Midwestern places in our analysis ranked by their indexes from C2ER.
32. Springfield, Missouri
Composite index: 84.5
Home price: $354,925
Apartment rent: $1,029
Energy: $130.64
Doctor visit: $123.46
Beauty salon visit: $41.80
31. Kalamazoo, Michigan
Composite index: 85.2
Home price: $292,434
Apartment rent: $913
Energy: $206.58
Doctor visit: $116.67
Beauty salon visit: $27.63
30. Topeka, Kansas
Composite index: 86.1
Home price: $373,163
Apartment rent: $891
Energy: $198.66
Doctor visit: $132.94
Beauty salon visit: $35.00
29. Rockford, Illinois
Composite index: 86.9
Home price: $300,000
Apartment rent: $1,158
Energy: $144.60
Doctor visit: $150.00
Beauty salon visit: $42.00
27 (tie). Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
Composite index: 87.7
Home price: $358,200
Apartment rent: $923
Energy: $158.18
Doctor visit: $132.00
Beauty salon visit: $41.00
27 (tie). Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Illinois
Composite index: 87.7
Home price: $329,398
Apartment rent: $1,118
Energy: $152.49
Doctor visit: $159.50
Beauty salon visit: $40.88
26. Peoria, Illinois
Composite index: 88.2
Home price: $385,000
Apartment rent: $950
Energy: $157.02
Doctor visit: $145.00
Beauty salon visit: $39.00
25. St. Louis
Composite index: 88.7
Home price: $390,388
Apartment rent: $1,061
Energy: $197.55
Doctor visit: $89.69
Beauty salon visit: $45.00
24. Wichita, Kansas
Composite index: 88.9
Home price: $335,781
Apartment rent: $1,009
Energy: $196.43
Doctor visit: $112.65
Beauty salon visit: $50.00
23. Springfield, Illinois
Composite index: 89.4
Home price: $415,000
Apartment rent: $1,103
Energy: $179.57
Doctor visit: $120.00
Beauty salon visit: $30.00
22. Cleveland
Composite index: 89.8
Home price: $363,504
Apartment rent: $1,254
Energy: $212.26
Doctor visit: $119.00
Beauty salon visit: $37.00
21. Fort Wayne-Allen County, Indiana
Composite index: 89.9
Home price: $337,867
Apartment rent: $1,390
Energy: $189.82
Doctor visit: $116.75
Beauty salon visit: $34.00
20. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Composite index: 90.0
Home price: $332,838
Apartment rent: $964
Energy: $207.17
Doctor visit: $172.00
Beauty salon visit: $38.25
18 (tie). Columbia, Missouri
Composite index: 90.1
Home price: $465,600
Apartment rent: $951
Energy: $176.28
Doctor visit: $163.00
Beauty salon visit: $46.50
18 (tie). Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Composite index: 90.1
Home price: $448,565
Apartment rent: $1,174
Energy: $136.53
Doctor visit: $186.00
Beauty salon visit: $35.00
17. Indianapolis
Composite index: 91.5
Home price: $362,491
Apartment rent: $1,295
Energy: $200.43
Doctor visit: $106.18
Beauty salon visit: $39.30
16. South Bend, Indiana
Composite index: 91.6
Home price: $404,250
Apartment rent: $1,630
Energy: $191.16
Doctor visit: $120.00
Beauty salon visit: $51.20
15. Green Bay, Wisconsin
Composite index: 92.3
Home price: $424,736
Apartment rent: $980
Energy: $189.98
Doctor visit: $161.19
Beauty salon visit: $32.50
14. Columbus, Ohio
Composite index: 92.4
Home price: $401,960
Apartment rent: $1,583
Energy: $178.90
Doctor visit: $121.60
Beauty salon visit: $47.00
13. Minneapolis
Composite index: 92.8
Home price: $405,298
Apartment rent: $1,398
Energy: $186.69
Doctor visit: $162.98
Beauty salon visit: $36.70
12. St. Paul, Minnesota
Composite index: 92.9
Home price: $401,168
Apartment rent: $1,382
Energy: $182.51
Doctor visit: $161.03
Beauty salon visit: $37.56
11. Omaha, Nebraska
Composite index: 93.1
Home price: $389,288
Apartment rent: $1,543
Energy: $185.12
Doctor visit: $136.40
Beauty salon visit: $32.71
10. Lincoln, Nebraska
Composite index: 93.4
Home price: $360,883
Apartment rent: $1,198
Energy: $131.34
Doctor visit: $171.33
Beauty salon visit: $48.80
9. Kansas City, Missouri-Kansas
Composite index: 94.4
Home price: $457,307
Apartment rent: $1,550
Energy: $232.14
Doctor visit: $90.53
Beauty salon visit: $33.70
8. Dayton, Ohio
Composite index: 95.0
Home price: $375,821
Apartment rent: $1,481
Energy: $199.16
Doctor visit: $149.00
Beauty salon visit: $45.60
7. Lafayette, Indiana
Composite index: 95.1
Home price: $422,600
Apartment rent: $1,241
Energy: $228.05
Doctor visit: $135.00
Beauty salon visit: $33.75
6. Joliet-Will County, Illinois
Composite index: 95.3
Home price: $372,000
Apartment rent: $1,278
Energy: $126.77
Doctor visit: $153.00
Beauty salon visit: $75.00
5. Cincinnati
Composite index: 96.6
Home price: $422,238
Apartment rent: $1,318
Energy: $213.96
Doctor visit: $155.00
Beauty salon visit: $40.60
4. Fargo-Moorhead, North Dakota-Minnesota
Composite index: 98.1
Home price: $348,046
Apartment rent: $1,643
Energy: $173.56
Doctor visit: $211.92
Beauty salon visit: $41.20
3. Milwaukee-Waukesha, Wisconsin
Composite index: 100.0
Home price: $479,950
Apartment rent: $1,607
Energy: $201.11
Doctor visit: $209.00
Beauty salon visit: $47.33
2. Detroit
Composite index: 102.4
Home price: $547,555
Apartment rent: $1,625
Energy: $171.28
Doctor visit: $158.75
Beauty salon visit: $58.40
1. Chicago
Composite index: 113.4
Home price: $546,333
Apartment rent: $3,176
Energy: $149.12
Doctor visit: $170.00
Beauty salon visit: $58.33
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