Cost of living expenses in Ca? (Fresno, Sacramento: sales, real estate, car insurance)

[SunshineGrl123]

Out of curiosity, how much is gas going for in the Sacramento area? What about groceries? Like for the basic stuff: milk, bread, etc. What about license plate fees? I just want a general comparison to Ohio prices to see if there is a huge difference. All I hear is how the cost of living is really expensive in Ca. I'm wondering how much more it is in Ca. than Oh. Thanks!

[ryuns]

There was another thread on that recently: http://www.city-data.com/forum/sacra...s-someone.html
When people talk about California being expensive, they're mostly talking about housing and taxes.
I said this in the other thread:

Sales tax here is 8.5%, but doesn't cover most groceries. Check out paycheckcity or a similar website to see how state taxes will affect your bottom line. It's highly bracketed in CA, so it depends heavily on AGI. For me, I contribute a decent amount to retirement, get a deduction for property tax and mortgage interest, and can deduct the state taxes from federal, so the overall tax bite in California, while still unpleasant, isn't as bad as people make it out to be.

Gas tax is reflected in the price of gas, which is probably 30 cents higher than the US average. But Sac has relatively cheap gas. As per gasbuddy.com, US average was 3.28/gallon, Sacramento average was 3.42, and Costco is selling it for 3.19.

There was some disagreement about cost of groceries, but I don't feel like I spend very much. It will depend on what shopping options you have and make sense to you. I go to the big farmers' market here, which is mostly cheap, and mostly discount grocery stores for other stuff. Very generally, you can google "cost of living comparison" and find a site to compare COL among metro areas. Sac is generally pretty average, with housing about 25% higher than the national average.

[lrmsd]

Go to www bank rate dot com You can do a COL comparison and you'll get a list of items from haircut to socks to milk or eggs. Don't know how accurate but will give you an idea. More than likely, your major increase will be housing. Utilities [no need for heat half the year] will probably go down. Food is on par or cheaper.

[Bulldogdad]

Milk $3gal nonfat
Eggs $1.60dz large
Bread $2.50 24oz orowheat

Again you can find somewhat higher and lower prices for each of those items depending on where you shop, quality and brand of product just like any thing else.

[NinaN]

I find gas and restaurants more expensive vs. Texas. But for the rest it's the same. Except the wine. Much cheaper here...and much better.

[NewToCA]

Food, clothing and other basics are about the same as major metro areas in Ohio. Water and sewer is significantly higher out here, as are the electric and gas rates per unit. But with the moderate weather the lower usage offsets the higher rates, so for gas and electric we run a little lower than we did in Ohio.

Taxes are similar to Ohio, considering the combined state income and local wage tax paid in the larger Ohio metro areas. Property taxes can be less here though, depending on where you lived in Ohio.

[Goin' Coastal]

Originally Posted by NinaN

I find gas and restaurants more expensive vs. Texas.

By shopping at Safeway and earning their gas rewards, my husband and I routinely save $1/gal. off a tank of gas, up to 25 gallons per purchase. Our last fill up was $2.47/gal. for the cash price. We also find that Sacramento area Safeway gas is less expensive than Safeway gas in the Bay Area.

The Gas Buddy iPhone app can help you explore local gas prices.

[NinaN]

Originally Posted by Goin' Coastal

By shopping at Safeway and earning their gas rewards, my husband and I routinely save $1/gal. off a tank of gas, up to 25 gallons per purchase. Our last fill up was $2.47/gal. for the cash price. We also find that Sacramento area Safeway gas is less expensive than Safeway gas in the Bay Area.

The Gas Buddy iPhone app can help you explore local gas prices.

I do the Safeway/rewards thing here. It's still 50 cents a gallon more than Texas because they have rewards too.

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by SunshineGrl123

Out of curiosity, how much is gas going for in the Sacramento area? What about groceries? Like for the basic stuff: milk, bread, etc. What about license plate fees? I just want a general comparison to Ohio prices to see if there is a huge difference. All I hear is how the cost of living is really expensive in Ca. I'm wondering how much more it is in Ca. than Oh. Thanks!

Bank rate dot com has a cost of living comparison calculator and lists individual items.
Check it out. For license fees, google the CA dmv; there's a whole section dedicated to how to do this and the fees, etc. Also, milk and eggs will vary by store somewhat. Google the city sales tax rates-CA is 8% and cities can add a little on top of that. Gas prices fluctuate regularly. Real estate is usually the biggest difference. Food is grown year round in CA; good quality produce can be had inexpensively, again, year round. Car insurance varies; some states have no fault or otherwise higher rates than CA. Re: CA being expensive, it's like a mantra that people chant; ca is expensive. ca is expensive. People just say it even if they personally do not know the specifics. Property taxes, for example, are notably higher in many east coast states. [don't know about OH] And in most of CA, utilities are lower b/c you don't have winter or summer extremes for months of the year. No central a/c or heating costs 24/7.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by lrmsd

And in most of CA, utilities are lower b/c you don't have winter or summer extremes for months of the year. No central a/c or heating costs 24/7.

I agree that Sacramento doesnt have the weather extremes like the Central San Joaquin Valley, but where you live in the Sacto region and age of house will have an affect on your utilities. The central city of Sacramento is much cooler due to the rivers, delta breeze & tree coverage in comparison to the suburbs. Lincoln's temps summertime temps run very close to Fresno County, which also means it is hotter in the evening. Even Folsom runs 5-10 degrees hotter. I live in Folsom, and I run my AC pretty much all summer. Thankfully, my house is well insulated & has double paned windows so my AC bills aren't too high. It's not uncommon to have a few weeks (sometimes more, sometimes less) of 100 degree plus summertime heat. I think we are in for a heat wave this summer due to the warm winter & drought.