Cost of Living in Junction City, Louisiana

Published: September 17, 2020 6:08 pm

Cost of Living in Junction City, Louisiana

Junction City is a village spanning Union Parish and Claiborne Parish in Louisiana with a population of 560. The total cost of housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, taxes, and other necessities for a single adult in Junction City is $33,514 a year — less than the annual cost of living for Louisiana of $35,133 and 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 Junction City and over 29,000 other cities and towns in the US.

Transportation Costs in Junction City, Louisiana

Transportation can also be a significant component of cost of living. In Junction City, 100.00% of commuters drive to work, compared to 85.5% of commuters nationwide. An estimated 91.90% of workers commute to jobs outside of Junction City, a larger share than the 43.7% share of commuters nationwide who live and work in different cities. The average commute in Junction City is 31.3 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 Junction City spends $11,145 a year on transportation, more than the national average of $9,760.

Health Care Costs in Junction City, Louisiana

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 Junction City and also above what they are across Louisiana as a whole.

For a single adult living in the area, average health care costs come out to $5,094 per year, compared to an average of $4,707 across Louisiana and $4,266 nationwide.

Child care Costs in Junction City, Louisiana

For families with children, child care adds thousands of dollars to overall annual spending. In Junction City, the average annual cost of child care for two children — one 4 year old and one 8 year old — is $7,461, about $1,600 less than the comparable average of $9,099 across all of Louisiana. Meanwhile, across the U.S. as a whole, childcare expenses for two children averages $15,853 per year.

Food Costs in Junction City, Louisiana

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 Junction City, a single adult spends an average of $2,973 on food annually, and a family of four spends $8,586 on average. For context, average annual food expenditure across Louisiana and the U.S., respectively, are $3,119 and $3,240 for a single adult, and $9,006 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 Junction City, Louisiana

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 Junction City, Louisiana pays $5,432 annually — closely in line with the statewide average of $5,772.

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, Junction City residents live in a state with a low average tax burden. Per capita state tax collections in Louisiana total $2,437 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 Junction City, Louisiana