LOW UTILITY COSTS BALANCE HIGH HOUSING PRICES IN BOZEMAN’S COST OF LIVING
BOZEMAN – Bozeman’s composite cost of living index score came in at 2.9 percent above the national average for the third quarter of 2015, according to the latest Cost of Living Index Report released by Prospera Business Network today. The composite index is based on six component categories – housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care and miscellaneous goods & services. The national average composite index is set at 100 each collection period; therefore the index conveys relative price levels at a specific point in time and the index score can be seen as a percentage of the average for all places. The Index does not measure inflation (price change over time). Figures above 100 represent costs above national average; figures below 100 represent costs below national averages.
Housing: The third quarter housing index score was 113.9, meaning that area housing was 13.9 percent above the national average as of October 2015. The average price of a 2,400 square foot new home on an 8,000 square foot lot that met the index collection specifications was $370,065. The average monthly rental rate for a 950 square foot apartment in Bozeman that met the index collection specifications was $1,000. Mortgage rates are also taken into consideration when computing the housing index score.
All Other Categories: Bozeman residents enjoy a bargain when it comes to utilities, which were 14.7 percent below average. Transportation costs and miscellaneous goods & services did not differ significantly from national averages. Groceries were 1.6 percent above average and health care was 4.1 percent above average for the quarter.
Area Comparisons: To put Bozeman’s index scores in perspective, the other cities included in the table below include the cities with the most expensive and least expensive composite scores for the quarter—Manhattan, New York and McCallen, Texas respectively. The table also includes the most comparable cities to Bozeman in the Western region that participate in the index. Note: San Francisco was included to provide insight into how Bozeman compares to the Bay area since none of the participating cities in California were comparable to Bozeman. Similarly, Portland was included as the only Oregon city with data available for the quarter.
The national average composite index is set at 100 each collection period. The index conveys relative price levels at a specific point in time and the index score can be seen as a percentage of the average for all places The Index does not measure inflation (price change over time).