Post by greenspirit on Oct 29, 2019 9:45:05 GMT -5
We (by we, I mean my mathy husband) compared the cost of living in MI vs several other states including IN, IL, KS, MO, OH, and WI. IL is the most expensive and we didn't see a really significant difference between the others, including MI. IN is the least expensive by a little. But that is for our mix of lifestyle/expenses, level of income, and sources of income.
In all cases, it depends on where in the state you live - anywhere remotely close to Chicagoland or metro Detroit/Ann Arbor will be a lot higher than outstate but most of the states vary considerably even in the hinterlands. And different mixes lifestyle (sources of income, type of housing, ect) make a lot of difference because states vary in what they tax heavier/lighter: property taxes vs income taxes vs sales taxes.
Some examples, Michigan and Indiana don't charge sales tax on groceries, Illinois charges a lower rate for groceries, Kansas charges the normal sales tax on all food but people with incomes lower than about 40,000 can get a refund for taxes paid on the food consumed off premises on their state income taxes. Some parts of Ohio charge sales tax on groceries and other parts don't. None of which matters much if you either grow most of your own food or eat at restaurants a lot.
If you are coming from CA or MA then MI will seem to have a very low cost of living.
In general in MI, sales taxes and income taxes are fairly low by a little, property taxes are fairly high unless the land has been owned by the same family for a long time (MI caps property taxes), usage taxes (like required auto insurance, licenses and so on) are quite high, food is high except the fresh fruit/veggies inseason, housing is somewhat high, utilities are highish, goods and services like home or auto repair or improvement type things are somewhat high. This is compared to other central states. We didn't compare to the generally much higher cost of living east coast or west coast states.