Killeen Household Bills Below National Average
This article originally appeared on Kileen Daily Herald
By Erin Eskew Herald Correspondent
The average Texan’s household bills are about 3.1% higher than the national average, but Killeen residents’ household bills fall below the national average.
The national average for the top 10 most common household bills is roughly $2,046 monthly, according to research by doxoINSIGHTS.
Calculating expenses for a mortgage payment or rent, auto loans, utilities, health insurance, auto insurance, cable and internet, cell phones, security systems, and life insurance, Texans spend an average of $2,110 monthly. With an average of 38% of their income designated to household bills, Texas ranks 19 of the 50 states in relation to average monthly spending, the study showed.
With a monthly payment of an average of $2,007, Killeen ranks as the 115th most expensive place to live of the 247 evaluated towns and cities in Texas, according to doxoINSIGHTS study.
Although household expenses for Killeen residents are about 1.9% lower than the national average and 4.8% lower than the state average, Killeen households spend roughly 48% of their income on household bills.
Annually, Killeen residents pay about $469 less on household expenses than the national average, doxoINSIGHTS data shows.
Bell County ranks 30 out of 145 Texas counties, and on average, household bills in Bell County are about $297 lower than the national average.
Their study showed an average Killeen monthly mortgage payment at $1,183 or an average rent payment of $1,023 and utilities at $265. Auto loan payments in the area average $530 and insurance rates of about $180. Cable and internet bills average $102, mobile phones $93, and security systems $92 monthly. Life insurance policies in Killeen are an average of $63 monthly, according to the study, and health insurance costs an average of $171.
Data from Best Places concurs with the conclusion that Killeen is one of the more affordable places to live in Texas — and in the United States.
The median household income in Killeen is reported at $140k annually, but the wide tax base of the Bell County area and moderately average prices for necessities make the cost of living rank almost 20% below the national average, according to data from Best Places.
Overall, the cost of living in Killeen is averaged at 80.4% of the national average, while the cost of living in Texas is rated at 94.2, the research from Best Places indicates.
While Killeen has a lower cost of groceries, housing, transportation, and miscellaneous expenses, according to the Best Places data, healthcare costs are 1.5% higher than the national average, and utilities in the area are 0.04% higher than the national average. The cost of living in Killeen compared to the rest of the state is lower in all areas except healthcare, where costs are 1.5% higher; utilities, where costs are 1.2% higher than the state average; and miscellaneous expenses, where Killeen spends 9.8% more than the state average.
The most expensive cities to live in Texas are ranked as Southlake, Colleyville, and Bellaire, where residents spend between 20% and 24% of their income on household bills, costing $3,153 to $3,653 monthly, doxoINSIGHTS research shows.
These cities spend from 54.1% to 78.5% more than the national average on household bills.
Meanwhile, the most affordable cities of Mercedes, Marshall, and Alamo spend 35% to 40% of their income on household bills, totalling $1,294 to $1,391 monthly. These cities fall 32% to 36.7% below the national average for household bill cost, the study showed.