Cost of Living in Oak Run, Illinois

Published: September 17, 2020 5:35 pm

Cost of Living in Oak Run, Illinois

Oak Run is a Census-designated place in Knox County, Illinois, with a population of 607. The total cost of housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, taxes, and other necessities for a single adult in Oak Run is $31,993 a year — less than the annual cost of living for Illinois of $37,387 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 Oak Run and over 29,000 other cities and towns in the US.

Housing Costs in Oak Run, Illinois

Housing is one of the largest components of cost of living. In Oak Run, the median home value is $230,800, greater than the national median home value of $204,900.

Renting is a sometimes lower cost alternative to homeownership. In Oak Run, some 1.10% 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 Oak Run, the median household income is $87,917, 2.6 times the median home value.

Transportation Costs in Oak Run, Illinois

Transportation can also be a significant component of cost of living. In Oak Run, 95.50% of commuters drive to work, compared to 85.5% of commuters nationwide. An estimated 95.90% of workers commute to jobs outside of Oak Run, a larger share than the 43.7% share of commuters nationwide who live and work in different cities. The average commute in Oak Run is 29.2 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 Oak Run spends $10,446 a year on transportation, more than the national average of $9,760.

Health Care Costs in Oak Run, Illinois

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 Oak Run and also above what they are across Illinois as a whole.

For a single adult living in the area, average health care costs come out to $5,076 per year, compared to an average of $4,566 across Illinois and $4,266 nationwide.

Child care Costs in Oak Run, Illinois

For families with children, child care adds thousands of dollars to overall annual spending. In Oak Run, the average annual cost of child care for two children — one 4 year old and one 8 year old — is $11,091, about $5,900 less than the comparable average of $16,970 across all of Illinois. Meanwhile, across the U.S. as a whole, childcare expenses for two children averages $15,853 per year.

Food Costs in Oak Run, Illinois

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 Oak Run, a single adult spends an average of $2,817 on food annually, and a family of four spends $8,136 on average. For context, average annual food expenditure across Illinois and the U.S., respectively, are $3,004 and $3,240 for a single adult, and $8,674 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 Oak Run, Illinois

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 Oak Run, Illinois pays $5,325 annually — relatively little compared to the statewide average of $6,458.

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, Oak Run residents live in a state with a modest average tax burden. Per capita state tax collections in Illinois total $3,128 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 Oak Run, Illinois