BULLHEAD CITY – The Cost-of-Living Index (COLI) Annual Average Data report for the third quarter of 2019 was released and Bullhead City is once again the most affordable city in Arizona. Statistics show it is also one of the most affordable cities in the nation. Bullhead City was reported again as the most affordable city in Arizona with an overall composite index of 91.5 percent. This report represents the average prices submitted by the participating 268 urban areas nationwide.
“Bullhead City residents and visitors enjoy the most affordable gas, food, utilities and retail prices. This is no small issue as new residents arrive every day because of affordability.” stated City Manager Toby Cotter. “Bullhead City is proud to be one of the most affordable cities in the country.”
A city’s composite index is made up of six components; grocery items, housing, utilities, transportation, health care and miscellaneous goods and services. The cost-of-living doesn’t measure local price changes from period to period, but rather changes in how local prices compared to prices in other areas from period to period. The breakdown of the six components for the City of Bullhead City this reporting period is 80 percent for housing costs, 85.1 percent for utilities costs, 93.8 percent for transportation costs, 82.3 percent for healthcare, 94.8 percent for grocery items and 88.9 percent for misc. goods and services. When compared to the other Arizona cities that participated, Bullhead City is the lowest in utilities and transportation, second for miscellaneous goods and services and third for healthcare.
The City’s low cost of living is great for our economy, which continues to attract new businesses and residents looking at getting away from higher costs areas such as southern California’s Orange County at 151.1 percent and Los Angeles-Long Beach at 148 percent. The other six Arizona cities that participated this quarter and their overall composite scores are: Flagstaff 113.4 percent, Phoenix 99.4 percent, Surprise 93.1 percent, Prescott-Prescott Valley 108.8 percent, Tucson 96.9 percent and City of Yuma 96.5 percent.
Cotter said Bullhead City businesses do a great job of keeping costs down with consumers in mind. “From specials at local restaurants to some of the lowest gas prices in the state, our City businesses care deeply about our residents and we see that affordability over and over in these quantifiable reports.” Cotter said.
If you have any questions concerning the cost of living data, please feel free to contact the City Manager’s office at (928)763-9400. Also, please feel free to check out the Cost-of-Living Index Calculator on the City’s website at www.bullheadcity.com/movingto.
