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Zillow: Families Spend $9,000 More a Year to Live in City vs. Suburbs

Staff Report

Tuesday, March 7th, 2017

City living comes with a premium in most major metros, especially for families with kids. Nationally, families spend an average of $9,073 more per year to cover basic housing and child care costs in the city than in the suburbs, according to a new Cost of Living analysis from Zillow and Care.com (NYSE: CRCM; www.care.com), the world's largest online platform for finding and managing family care.i

To help with budgeting this home-shopping season, Zillow and Care.com identified three common living expenses (property taxes, mortgage payments and child care costs based on rates listed on Care.com) and calculated how much they cost around the country.

Nationally, families living in the city spend $43,652 a year on housing and child care. Yet, in the suburbs they spend just $34,579. New York, Chicago and Dallas have the highest variance between urban and suburban living, with city dwellers paying as much as $71,237 more a year, or nearly $6,000 extra a month. However, city living is not always more expensive. In Philadelphia and Baltimore, families could pay up to $14,000 more a year to live in the suburbs.

While high property taxes and rising home prices are usually the reasons why city living is more expensive, child care can also play a part. In Minneapolis, child care is nearly $4,119 more a year in the city, but housing costs are actually $189 cheaper.

"Deciding whether to live in the city or suburbs is a personal choice, but when you do the math, it's easy to see why moving to the suburbs is about more than just a bigger yard – it can also save you a lot of money," says Svenja Gudell, Zillow chief economist. "More than a third of families exceed their initial budget when buying a home, according to the Zillow® Group Consumer Trends Report, so before embarking on a move, consider the cost of living beyond just the home's sticker price."

In addition to potentially cheaper living costs, the median suburban home is nearly 280 square feet larger. Meanwhile, reported commute times are roughly the same between urban and suburban residents.ii

"Figuring out where your family will live and grow is arguably one of the most exciting and daunting times in a parent's life," added Joyce Hodel, data scientist at Care.com. "While moving to the suburbs often brings significant cost savings, city living can still be the right choice for some families and is less expensive in certain metro areas. The Care.com and Zillow Cost of Living Report aims to help families understand how their family's housing and child care costs may change before making that big family move."

Metro

Classification

Property Taxes and Mortgage Payment (Annual)

Annual Child Care Costs (Child Care Center for 2 Kids)

Total Annual Housing and Child Care Expenses

Suburban vs. Urban Living Cost Difference

Median Sq. Ft.

Median Commute Time (Minutes)

United States

Suburban

$ 15,006

$ 19,573

$ 34,579

$ (9,073)

1,654

27.7

United States

Urban

$ 22,271

$ 21,381

$ 43,652

  

1,375

26.9

Atlanta, GA

Suburban

$ 13,569

$ 17,236

$ 30,805

$ (12,557)

1,988

30.6

Atlanta, GA

Urban

$ 22,435

$ 20,927

$ 43,362

  

1,611

28.3

Austin, TX

Suburban

$ 17,279

$ 18,989

$ 36,268

$ (11,522)

1,988

26.3

Austin, TX

Urban

$ 25,661

$ 22,129

$ 47,790

  

1,416

21.9

Baltimore, MD

Suburban

$ 15,568

$ 19,493

$ 35,061

$ 10,790

1,525

30.9

Baltimore, MD

Urban

$ 5,904

$ 18,367

$ 24,271

  

1,292

30.9

Birmingham, AL

Suburban

$ 13,338

$ 20,820

$ 34,158

$ (696)

1,523

25.7

Birmingham, AL

Urban

$ 16,498

$ 18,356

$ 34,854

  

1,360

23.1

Boston, MA

Suburban

$ 24,483

$ 27,078

$ 51,561

$ (8,076)

1,666

30.6

Boston, MA

Urban

$ 32,130

$ 27,507

$ 59,637

  

1,262

27.9

Chicago, IL

Suburban

$ 28,408

$ 20,386

$ 48,794

$ (18,472)

1,532

30.2

Chicago, IL

Urban

$ 45,335

$ 21,931

$ 67,266

  

1,241

31.9

Cincinnati, OH

Suburban

$ 15,267

$ 16,613

$ 31,880

$ 5,514

1,604

24.1

Cincinnati, OH

Urban

$ 12,607

$ 13,759

$ 26,366

  

1,420

22.2

Cleveland, OH

Suburban

$ 15,134

$ 17,513

$ 32,647

$ 9,034

1,572

24.3

Cleveland, OH

Urban

$ 7,625

$ 15,988

$ 23,613

  

1,356

23.7

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

Suburban

$ 14,342

$ 16,373

$ 30,715

$ (14,128)

1,893

26.8

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

Urban

$ 24,417

$ 20,426

$ 44,843

  

1,639

24.6

Denver, CO

Suburban

$ 44,875

$ 21,184

$ 66,059

$ 3,635

1,642

27.1

Denver, CO

Urban

$ 40,564

$ 21,860

$ 62,424

  

1,215

24.9

Houston, TX

Suburban

$ 12,584

$ 15,268

$ 27,852

$ (5,368)

1,964

28.3

Houston, TX

Urban

$ 16,538

$ 16,682

$ 33,220

  

1,700

25.9

Las Vegas, NV

Suburban

$ 15,934

$ 17,711

$ 33,645

$ 7,318

1,800

23.4

Las Vegas, NV

Urban

$ 10,481

$ 15,846

$ 26,327

  

1,478

24.5

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Suburban

$ 34,943

$ 21,280

$ 56,223

$ 407

1,608

28.5

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Urban

$ 34,042

$ 21,774

$ 55,816

  

1,386

28.3

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL

Suburban

$ 16,298

$ 16,860

$ 33,158

$ (1,943)

1,483

26.8

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL

Urban

$ 16,437

$ 18,664

$ 35,101

  

1,222

27.5

Milwaukee, WI

Suburban

$ 14,100

$ 21,246

$ 35,346

$ 8,227

1,419

22.7

Milwaukee, WI

Urban

$ 7,431

$ 19,688

$ 27,119

  

1,271

22.2

Minneapolis-St Paul, MN

Suburban

$ 14,899

$ 19,970

$ 34,869

$ (3,930)

1,351

24.7

Minneapolis-St Paul, MN

Urban

$ 14,710

$ 24,089

$ 38,799

  

1,250

22.8

New Orleans, LA

Suburban

$ 25,180

$ 14,165

$ 39,345

$ 836

1,792

25.6

New Orleans, LA

Urban

$ 23,675

$ 14,834

$ 38,509

  

1,661

21.1

New York, NY

Suburban

$ 28,668

$ 23,253

$ 51,921

$ (71,237)

1,704

32.6

New York, NY

Urban

$ 101,590

$ 21,568

$ 123,158

  

1,428

35.2

Philadelphia, PA

Suburban

$ 19,439

$ 19,575

$ 39,014

$ 13,859

1,760

27.5

Philadelphia, PA

Urban

$ 7,402

$ 17,753

$ 25,155

  

1,254

29.6

Phoenix, AZ

Suburban

$ 32,097

$ 17,110

$ 49,207

$ 6,567

1,792

26.7

Phoenix, AZ

Urban

$ 26,893

$ 15,747

$ 42,640

  

1,560

23.7

Pittsburgh, PA

Suburban

$ 10,988

$ 17,185

$ 28,173

$ 4,258

1,452

26.4

Pittsburgh, PA

Urban

$ 6,916

$ 16,999

$ 23,915

  

1,420

25.3

Portland, OR

Suburban

$ 21,909

$ 19,938

$ 41,847

$ (7,998)

1,625

24.9

Portland, OR

Urban

$ 26,575

$ 23,270

$ 49,845

  

1,452

25.6

Providence, RI

Suburban

$ 16,394

$ 20,473

$ 36,867

$ 6,974

1,483

25.3

Providence, RI

Urban

$ 12,389

$ 17,504

$ 29,893

  

1,296

22.8

Sacramento, CA

Suburban

$ 19,555

$ 18,873

$ 38,428

$ (10,822)

1,683

26.4

Sacramento, CA

Urban

$ 25,847

$ 23,403

$ 49,250

  

1,428

23.3

San Antonio, TX

Suburban

$ 11,378

$ 16,135

$ 27,513

$ 2,474

1,770

24.3

San Antonio, TX

Urban

$ 8,126

$ 16,913

$ 25,039

  

1,418

23.8

San Diego, CA

Suburban

$ 30,996

$ 21,398

$ 52,394

$ 4,555

1,633

24.8

San Diego, CA

Urban

$ 27,803

$ 20,036

$ 47,839

  

1,336

24.4

San Francisco, CA

Suburban

$ 46,087

$ 26,177

$ 72,264

$ (12,560)

1,596

30.2

San Francisco, CA

Urban

$ 52,730

$ 32,094

$ 84,824

  

1,315

29.6

San Jose, CA

Suburban

$ 59,539

$ 27,991

$ 87,530

$ 1,628

1,565

25.2

San Jose, CA

Urban

$ 55,388

$ 30,514

$ 85,902

  

1,525

23.7

Seattle, WA

Suburban

$ 21,289

$ 22,003

$ 43,292

$ (11,376)

1,816

28.8

Seattle, WA

Urban

$ 28,349

$ 26,319

$ 54,668

  

1,592

26.8

Washington, DC

Suburban

$ 21,425

$ 21,660

$ 43,085

$ (12,832)

1,724

35.2

Washington, DC

Urban

$ 28,134

$ 27,783