City of Findlay Third Quarter 2021 Cost of Living

Among the 263 urban areas that participated in the third quarter 2021 Cost of Living Index, the after-tax cost for a professional/managerial standard of living ranged from more than twice the national average in New York (Manhattan) NY to more than 20 percent below the national average in Kalamazoo, MI. The Cost of Living Index is published quarterly by C2ER – The Council for Community and Economic Research.

The Ten Most and Least Expensive Urban Areas in the Cost of Living Index (COLI) Third Quarter 2021 National Average for 263 Urban Areas = 100
Most Expensive				Least Expensive
Ranking	Urban Areas	COL Index		Ranking	Urban Areas	COL Index
1	New York (Manhattan) NY		239.3	1	Kalamazoo MI	76.5
2	San Francisco CA		186.4	2	McAllen TX	77.0
3	Honolulu HI		185.6	3	Harlingen TX	79.0
4	New York (Brooklyn) NY		172.6	4	Muskogee OK	79.6
5	Washington DC		154.4	5	Tupelo MS	81.2
6	Oakland CA		152.8	6	Amarillo TX	81.5
7	Orange County CA		151.9	7	Anniston-Calhoun County AL	82.2
8	Seattle WA		149.4	8	Richmond IN	82.3
9	Boston MA		148.6	9	Pittsburg KS	83.0
10	Los Angeles-Long Beach CA		148.0	10	Jackson MS	83.1

The Cost of Living Index measures regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures, for professional and managerial households in the top income quintile. It is based on more than 90,000 prices covering 60 different items for which prices are collected quarterly by chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, and university applied economic centers in each participating urban area. Small differences should not be interpreted as showing a measurable difference.

The composite index is based on six component categories – housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services.

The City of Findlay’s second quarter 2021 Cost of Living Index was 92.6, which is 7.4 percent below that of the national average. The City of Findlay’s composite index reflects the following six different categories of consumer expenditures.

	Grocery Items	Housing	Utilities	Trans-portation	Health Care	Misc. GoodsAnd Services
Findlay OH	100.6	70.9	91.4	99.1	95.5	104.8

The Most to Least Expensive Urban Areas in Ohio in the Cost of Living Index (COLI) Third Quarter 2021 National Average for 263 Urban Areas = 100
Ranking	Urban Areas	COL Index
1	Cincinnati		93.8
2	Columbus		93.4
3	Dayton		93.3
4	Findlay		92.6
5	Cleveland		92.4
6	Lima		91.6

Compared to other Ohio cities, Findlay’s data showed that it ranked second-least expensive in the Housing category. The data also shows that Findlay ranked third least expensive for the costs of Grocery Items, Utilities, and Health Care.

What Do Groceries Cost?

Each quarter, C2ER collects more than 90,000 prices from communities across the US for the Cost of Living Index. With food prices still being a big part of the national conversation, C2ER decided to once again feature those communities with the most and least expensive food costs as measured by the grocery item index number. C2ER collects data on twenty-six items from a variety of surrogate categories to represent the grocery item component of the index. See the chart below for the Ohio comparison:

The Most to Least Expensive Places for Grocery Items by Index Number in the Cost of Living Index (COLI) Third Quarter 2021 National Average for 263 Urban Areas = 100
Ranking	Urban Areas	COL Index
1	Columbus		103.4
2	Cleveland		102.5
3	Lima		101.4
4	Findlay		100.6
5	Cincinnati		100.5
6	Dayton		99.7

The Cost to Attend a Yoga Class

After over a year of being at home and living a more sedentary lifestyle due to COVID-19, people are adopting a more holistic view of their health and fitness, including their mental health. Demand for meditation, yoga and fitness classes are booming, but after the peak of fitness facility closures in March 2020, return to in-person activity has been uneven due to varied state and local guidelines and restrictions. Restrictions on occupancy and operational costs from the pandemic have contributed to higher prices for in-person yoga and fitness classes across the county, as reflected in the Cost of Living Index.

The Cost to Attend a Yoga Class in Ohio Third Quarter 2021 National Average for 263 Urban Areas = $15.86
Ranking	Urban Areas	Avg. Price ($)
1	Columbus		18.00
2	Dayton		16.60
3	Cleveland		16.20
4	Cincinnati		13.50
5	Findlay		12.00
6	Lima		6.50