Cost of Living in Lake City, Colorado

Lake City is a town in Hinsdale County, Colorado, with a population of 454. The total cost of housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, taxes, and other necessities for a single adult in Lake City is $40,876 a year — about the same as the annual cost of living for Colorado of $40,026 and greater than the national figure of $38,433.

Using cost of living data from the nonprofift think tank Economic Policy Institute, 24/7 Wall St. estimated the cost of living in Lake City and over 29,000 other cities and towns in the US.

Housing Costs in Lake City, Colorado

Housing is one of the largest components of cost of living. In Lake City, the median home value is $293,600, greater than the national median home value of $204,900.

Renting is a sometimes lower cost alternative to homeownership. In Lake City, some 35.40% of occupied homes are rented, about the same as the 36.2% national renter rate. The typical renter in Lake City spends $755 a month on housing, about the same as the $1,023 national median monthly rent.

In addition to home value, one of the largest determinants of housing affordability is area income. While nationwide the price of a typical U.S. home is 3.4 times the $60,293 U.S. median household income, housing affordability ratios range from approximately 1.0 in the least expensive cities to more than 10.0 in the country's most expensive markets. In Lake City, the median household income is $47,917, 6.1 times the median home value.

Transportation Costs in Lake City, Colorado

Transportation can also be a significant component of cost of living. In Lake City, 80.20% of commuters drive to work, compared to 85.5% of commuters nationwide. An estimated 8.90% of workers commute to jobs outside of Lake City, a smaller share than the 43.7% share of commuters nationwide who live and work in different cities. The average commute in Lake City is 11.4 minutes long, compared to the 26.6-minute average commute nationwide. Taking into account the cost of gas, as well as public transit and car maintenance, the EPI estimates that a single person in Lake City spends $13,624 a year on transportation, more than the national average of $9,760.

Health Care Costs in Lake City, Colorado

Out-of-pocket health care costs and insurance premiums — assuming at least a basic level of health insurance coverage — are far higher than they are on average nationwide in Lake City and also well above what they are across Colorado as a whole.

For a single adult living in the area, average health care costs come out to $5,083 per year, compared to an average of $4,081 across Colorado and $4,266 nationwide.

Child care Costs in Lake City, Colorado

For families with children, child care adds thousands of dollars to overall annual spending. In Lake City, the average annual cost of child care for two children — one 4 year old and one 8 year old — is $11,806, about $6,400 less than the comparable average of $18,193 across all of Colorado. Meanwhile, across the U.S. as a whole, childcare expenses for two children averages $15,853 per year.

Food Costs in Lake City, Colorado

Food is another every day expense that has a significant impact on overall cost of living. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that the cost of food varies from city to city and town to town.

In Lake City, a single adult spends an average of $3,795 on food annually, and a family of four spends $10,959 on average. For context, average annual food expenditure across Colorado and the U.S., respectively, are $3,332 and $3,240 for a single adult, and $9,624 and $9,354 for a family of four. These estimates are calculated for a nutritionally adequate diet of food purchased at a grocery store for at-home preparation.

Taxes in Lake City, Colorado

Few expenses vary as much from city to city and town to town as taxes. Accounting for state and federal income taxes, as well as Social Security contributions and Medicare payroll taxes, the average adult working in Lake City, Colorado pays $7,177 annually — closely in line with the statewide average of $7,011.

It is important to note that these calculations do not include other common taxes such as property, sales, and excise taxes. Accounting for these taxes, while excluding taxes levied at the federal level, Lake City residents live in a state with a low average tax burden. Per capita state tax collections in Colorado total $2,599 per year, compared to the $3,151 average across all states.

Methodology

To estimate the cost of housing, food, transportation, health care, child care, taxes, and other necessities, 24/7 Wall St. assigned county-level Economic Policy Institute data to cities, towns, villages and Census-designated places based on boundary definitions from the U.S. Census Bureau. For places that span multiple counties, data was aggregated based on the percentage of boundary overlap.

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