St. Cloud’s Cost of Living Index Slightly Below Average for Q3 2024

(KNSI) — The St. Cloud area experienced a slightly below average cost of living for the third quarter of 2024, according to the Cost-of-Living Index.

The index examines 252 urban areas and measures regional differences in the costs of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures for higher-income households. It is based on 61 different items related to housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care and miscellaneous goods and services. The St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce collects prices for those three times a year.

The “all items” index for St. Cloud was 97.2, just below the national average of 100.0. We ranked 97.0 for grocery items, 80.2 for housing, 93.8 for utilities, 95.8 for transportation, 116.6 for health care and 110.3 for miscellaneous goods and services.

The index, which is put together and published quarterly by the Council for Community and Economic Research, compares other Upper Midwest cities comparable in size to St. Cloud.

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