Cost of Living in Country Life Acres, Missouri

Published: September 17, 2020 6:39 pm

Cost of Living in Country Life Acres, Missouri

Country Life Acres is a village in St. Louis County, Missouri, with a population of 84. The total cost of housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, taxes, and other necessities for a single adult in Country Life Acres is $34,051 a year — about the same as the annual cost of living for Missouri of $33,726 yet less 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 Country Life Acres and over 29,000 other cities and towns in the US.

Housing Costs in Country Life Acres, Missouri

Housing is one of the largest components of cost of living. In Country Life Acres, the median home value is $1,696,400, greater than the national median home value of $204,900.

Renting is a sometimes lower cost alternative to homeownership. In Country Life Acres, some 0.00% of occupied homes are rented, less than the 36.2% national renter rate.

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 Country Life Acres, the median household income is $2,000,000, 0.8 times the median home value.

Transportation Costs in Country Life Acres, Missouri

Transportation can also be a significant component of cost of living. In Country Life Acres, 92.30% of commuters drive to work, compared to 85.5% of commuters nationwide. An estimated 92.30% of workers commute to jobs outside of Country Life Acres, a larger share than the 43.7% share of commuters nationwide who live and work in different cities. The average commute in Country Life Acres is 19.4 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 Country Life Acres spends $9,130 a year on transportation, less than the national average of $9,760.

Health Care Costs in Country Life Acres, Missouri

Out-of-pocket health care costs and insurance premiums — assuming at least a basic level of health insurance coverage — are slightly lower than they are on average nationwide in Country Life Acres and also well below what they are across Missouri as a whole.

For a single adult living in the area, average health care costs come out to $3,703 per year, compared to an average of $4,576 across Missouri and $4,266 nationwide.

Child care Costs in Country Life Acres, Missouri

For families with children, child care adds thousands of dollars to overall annual spending. In Country Life Acres, the average annual cost of child care for two children — one 4 year old and one 8 year old — is $14,104, about $2,000 more than the comparable average of $12,087 across all of Missouri. Meanwhile, across the U.S. as a whole, childcare expenses for two children averages $15,853 per year.

Food Costs in Country Life Acres, Missouri

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 Country Life Acres, a single adult spends an average of $3,206 on food annually, and a family of four spends $9,259 on average. For context, average annual food expenditure across Missouri and the U.S., respectively, are $3,001 and $3,240 for a single adult, and $8,666 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 Country Life Acres, Missouri

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 Country Life Acres, Missouri pays $5,707 annually — closely in line with the statewide average of $5,639.

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, Country Life Acres residents live in a state with a low average tax burden. Per capita state tax collections in Missouri total $2,126 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.

Cost of Living in Country Life Acres, Missouri