Louisville Home Owners Love Cost of Living News

The latest release of the Cost of Living index brings more good news for Louisville home owners. The cost of purchasing goods and services in Derby City is roughly 11% lower than the average across the country. To put that into some context, it’s about two and half times less expensive to call Louisville home than it is to live in Manhattan. These figures come from the work of the Council for Community and Economic Research, a non-profit group that analyzes the prices of a wide range of consumer goods and services in 306 major metropolitan cities on a quarterly basis.

The biggest bang for the buck that Louisvillians see comes when buying a house. Based on data from the first quarter of 2012, buying a home in Louisville is close to 23% less expensive than the national average. For example, a 2,400-square-foot new home would cost an average of $231,573 in Louisville while the national average is $251,247. But housing isn’t the only area where Louisville home owners are saving money. Groceries, gasoline, and just about all common consumer goods are also significantly lower in Derby City than other urban centers.

Some will argue that a lower cost a living also goes along with lower average wages. And others contend that larger, more expensive cities are worth the higher price because of their ability to showcase top level professional sports teams and other marquis entertainment events. But for those of us looking for the most value for our hard-earned money, Louisville stands out because of its affordable cost of living.

Want to find out just how much? Check out CNN Money’s Cost of Living Calculator. Just enter a salary and home city and state. Then enter a comparison city and state. The calculator will tell you what a comparable salary in the comparison city will be and how a move to that city will affect common costs you will have there. For example, let’s compare the cost of living of someone in Louisville making a salary of $55,000 annually to what it would be if he or she moved to Boston. That $55,000 salary would have to be $82,350, and housing there would cost a whopping 92% more. Utilities, groceries, and healthcare will run 44%, 35%, and 39% more in Bean Town respectively. With number like these, Louisville home owners definitely love the latest cost of living news!

To start your search over, visit Louisville Real Estate and you can eassily restart your search for homes.