Cost of Living in South St. Paul, Minnesota

Published: September 17, 2020 6:32 pm

Cost of Living in South St. Paul, Minnesota

South St. Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, with a population of 20,256. The total cost of housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, taxes, and other necessities for a single adult in South St. Paul is $37,657 a year — greater than the annual cost of living for Minnesota of $36,459 yet roughly in line with 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 South St. Paul and over 29,000 other cities and towns in the US.

Housing Costs in South St. Paul, Minnesota

Housing is one of the largest components of cost of living. In South St. Paul, the median home value is $177,700, less than the national median home value of $204,900.

Renting is a sometimes lower cost alternative to homeownership. In South St. Paul, some 34.40% of occupied homes are rented, about the same as the 36.2% national renter rate. The typical renter in South St. Paul spends $938 a month on housing, about the same as the $1,023 national median monthly rent.

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 South St. Paul, the median household income is $60,588, 2.9 times the median home value.

Transportation Costs in South St. Paul, Minnesota

Transportation can also be a significant component of cost of living. In South St. Paul, 91.00% of commuters drive to work, compared to 85.5% of commuters nationwide. An estimated 85.30% of workers commute to jobs outside of South St. Paul, a larger share than the 43.7% share of commuters nationwide who live and work in different cities. The average commute in South St. Paul is 19.9 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 South St. Paul spends $9,869 a year on transportation, about the same as the national average of $9,760.

Health Care Costs in South St. Paul, Minnesota

Out-of-pocket health care costs and insurance premiums — assuming at least a basic level of health insurance coverage — are slightly higher than they are on average nationwide in South St. Paul but below what they are across Minnesota as a whole.

For a single adult living in the area, average health care costs come out to $4,435 per year, compared to an average of $4,885 across Minnesota and $4,266 nationwide.

Child care Costs in South St. Paul, Minnesota

For families with children, child care adds thousands of dollars to overall annual spending. In South St. Paul, the average annual cost of child care for two children — one 4 year old and one 8 year old — is $22,546, about $3,300 more than the comparable average of $19,242 across all of Minnesota. Meanwhile, across the U.S. as a whole, childcare expenses for two children averages $15,853 per year.

Food Costs in South St. Paul, Minnesota

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 South St. Paul, a single adult spends an average of $3,311 on food annually, and a family of four spends $9,562 on average. For context, average annual food expenditure across Minnesota and the U.S., respectively, are $3,225 and $3,240 for a single adult, and $9,314 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 South St. Paul, Minnesota

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 South St. Paul, Minnesota pays $6,328 annually — closely in line with the statewide average of $6,132.

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, South St. Paul residents live in a state with a high average tax burden. Per capita state tax collections in Minnesota total $4,758 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 South St. Paul, Minnesota