Cost of living in Beaufort a shade over national average

The Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce released today that the Beaufort/Port Royal/Bluffton’s cost of living index for 2009 was 103.1 percent, just slightly over the national average of 100.

The area’s health care cost was just below the national index with a rating of 96.2. Housing costs were at 103.4. Utilities had the highest index at 108.3 for the year.

The cost of living index is administered by the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association (ACCRA). “The Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce Visitor and Convention Bureau is pleased to provide economic data of this kind,” stated Robert Halfacre, 2009 chair.

While Beaufort is on par with national costs, other cities in South Carolina, with the exception of Hilton Head Island, have lower indexes. Greenville had the lowest index in the state at 89.9. Charleston’s index was 99.4, Columbia was 97.1 and Hilton Head was 114.7. Housing costs in the rest of the state indexed in the low 90s or below. Housing has the highest portion of the index at 28.99 percent.

The ACCRA cost of living index measures regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures, for professional and managerial households in the top income quintile. The composite index is based on six components – housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care and miscellaneous goods and services.