Locals paying more to live in their abodes extends to other household bills, with new analysis stating that household expenses in Santa Monica are much higher than the average United States home. According to the data by Doxo Insights, average household expenses in the city equate to $3,598 per month, a gap of 69.2% higher than the U.S. average of $2,126. Along with rent or mortgage payments, “household expenses” encompass categories like auto loans, utilities, health insurance, auto insurance, cable and internet, mobile phone plans, alarms and security, as well as life insurance.
Of course, rent and mortgage is still the largest piece of the pie, as the Doxo report states the average Santa Monica rent bill of $2,223 is nearly $1,000 more than the national average of $1,300 per month. The mortgage bill gap is even larger, with Santa Monica’s payments averaging $3,491 per month compared to the national average of $1,402.
In the other categories researched by Doxo, the most egregious gaps between Santa Monica payments and national payments lies in utilities and life insurance. Average utility bills in the city equate to $601 per month, more than $200 over the national average. Santa Monicans pay more overall for insurance and citizens of Santa Monica are older on average than the nation which also drives up life insurance costs.
Insurance in general has been an issue for several locals, including Ocean Park resident Jan Ludwinski.
“The most significant cost increases over the last couple of years have been in insurance,” Ludwinski said. “In (about) three years, my wife’s health insurance premium increased by 28%, her drug plan went up 88%, our car insurance went up 58% without a claim, fire insurance on our rented house went up 20% [without a claim], our homeowners insurance went up 22% [without a claim], and our earthquake insurance increased by 31%.” Ludwinski added that insurance brokers indicated that reasons for the increases include rise in costs of construction materials, labor inflation and environmental regulations; as well as increased risk from wildfires, mudslides and flooding.
There are several categories, however, where the national average actually exceeds Santa Monica’s monthly bills. Per the Doxo report, these categories are average monthly auto loan bills ($380 for the city, $496 national), mobile phone bills ($100 for Santa Monica, $121 national) and cable-internet bills ($104 in the city, $122 national).
Overall, throughout all categories, household bills account for 39% of the city’s average annual household income of $88,521. Bills continue to trend upward in Santa Monica higher than the national uptick as well, as the common household bills are up 6.7% year over year, compared to a 4% average increase at the national level.
While Santa Monica is the 103rd most expensive city in California for household expenses, its southern neighbor ranks in the state’s top five. Marina del Rey’s average household bills is $4,443 per month, fifth in the entire state, trailing only Porter Ranch, Danville, Hermosa Beach and Ladera Ranch. This includes a staggering average mortgage payment of $3,632 and average rent bill of $3,437. Santa Monica’s other neighbor, Venice, ranked 66th in the state, with households paying $3,760 per month in expenses.