COST OF LIVING

Tyler's cost of living index at the third quarter of 2009 was 94.7 of 100, and has consistently been 90-96% of the national average for the past five years. Cost of living indexes measure the relative price levels for consumer goods and services compared against the national average. The national average is always 100. Indexes below 100 indicate lower prices (less expensive) than the national average.

For example, Tyler's grocery index is 91.6. If during the third quarter of 2009 you bought a $100 basket of groceries in a city with a grocery index of 100, you would pay $100, the national average, for those groceries. However, in Tyler, you would only pay $91.60 for that same basket of groceries - a savings of $8.40, or 8.4%. In other words, your hard-earned dollars can buy more goods in Tyler than anywhere in the nation on average.

The Council for Community and Economic Research (ACCRA) conducts a nationwide survey and calculates the cost of living index each quarter. Since the number of respondents to the survey change each quarter, it is impossible to compare a quarter with any other quarter. A decline in the composite score or any category score does not necessarily mean prices have dropped, though this is possible. A drop in an index could also be caused if prices are rising locally and on the national average, but the local prices are rising at a smaller pace than the national average. The cost of living index is not a measure of inflation!

COST OF LIVING CITY COMPARISONS

The following table compares the cost of living index for cities the size of Tyler in the third quarter of 2009:

Location Index Tyler, TX 94.7 Burlington, VT 117.8 Fargo, ND 91.6 Joplin, MO 86.2 Lafayette, IN 93.8 Las Cruces, NM 103.1 Myrtle Beach, SC 93.6 St. George, UT 95.6

The following table compares the cost of living index for other U.S. cities, regardless of size, in the third quarter of 2009:

Location Index Tyler, TX 94.7 Chicago, IL 112.3 Denver, CO 104.3 Fort Lauderdale, FL 117.3 Reno, NV 104.3 New York (Manhattan), NY 214.7 San Francisco, CA 162.9 Washington, DC 138.5

COST OF LIVING SALARY ADJUSTMENTS

If you were living in Manhattan, NY and contemplating a job offer in Tyler, TX, how much of a decrease in your after-taxes income can be taken and still be able to maintain your present lifestyle? Using the cost of living index, you can estimate how much it would take.

Manhattan has a composite index of 214.7 and Tyler has a composite index of 94.7 (see table above). You could maintain the same lifestyle with only 55.9% of your original salary!

Salary adjustment = 100 x [(94.7 - 214.7)/214.7)] = 55.9%

If your after-tax salary is $80,000 in Manhattan, you would need a salary of $44,714 in Tyler, TX to enjoy the same lifestyle. What if you were moving to Manhattan, NY from Tyler, TX with an after-tax salary of $80,000. How much you you have to earn in Manhattan (after-taxes) to enjoy the same lifestyle you had in Tyler?

Salary adjustment = 100 x [(214.7 - 94.7)/94.7] = 126.7%

You would have to earn $181,373 to enjoy the same lifestyle in Manhattan as you did in Tyler!