Think Tank Reports Cost of Living in Stearns County

UNDATED (WJON News) - A non-partisan think tank has released a report on the annual household costs, or “cost of living”, in each county in the United States.

Officials say the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator measures the income a family needs in order to attain a modest yet adequate standard of living.

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The budgets estimate community-specific costs for 10 family types (one or two adults with zero to four children) in all counties and metro areas in the United States. Officials say, compared with the federal poverty line and the Supplemental Poverty Measure, EPI's family budgets provide a more accurate and complete measure of economic security in America.

In Stearn’s County, a household with two adults and two children needs to generate $99,628 per year, or $8,302 per month, to cover the cost of living or necessary costs incurred by the family.

Here’s a breakdown of those costs:

Housing: $993 per month.
Food: $1,003 per month.
Child Care: $1735 per month.
Transportation: $1,577 per month.
Health Care: $1,235 per month.
Other Necessities: $707 per month.
Taxes: 1,036 per month.

Graph: Economic Policy Institute.

Among the 87 counties in Minnesota, the EPI’s Calculator found Stearns County has the 27th highest cost of living, but the median family income ranks 38th.

Other counties in the report: