Cost of Living in Stockton and Sacramento Urban Areas Still (Relatively) Competitive
According to data gathered by the University of the Pacific’s Business Forecasting Center and included in the report released by ACCRA in mid-May 2006, Stockton and Sacramento register Q-1 2006 cost-of-living indices of 118.0 and 120.1, both significantly higher than the national average of 100.0. The numbers suggest that goods and services are on average 18% and 20% more expensive in Stockton and Sacramento relative to the rest of the nation. Still, the Stockton and Sacramento regions are considerably less expensive than some large urban areas in the state. San Francisco, Los Angeles-Long Beach, San Jose, Santa Ana, and Oakland areas all have indices higher than 145.0 and are among the top 10 most expensive urban areas in the nation. Higher housing costs are driving the high cost-of-living in Stockton, Sacramento and the other California urban areas.
The ACCRA Cost-of-Living Index (COLI) is a weighted index of six cost-of-living components, which include housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care and miscellaneous goods and services. For more information about the ACCRA Cost of Living Index visit http://www.accra.org/index.asp.
