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

Basic living expenses, like mortgage payments and child care, cost families significantly more in urban vs. suburban neighborhoods, according to Zillow and Care.com

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.”

ClassificationMetro	Classification	Property Taxes and Mortgage Payment	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	$55,917		1,292	34.1

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