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44 Examples of Cost Of Living

John Spacey, updated on July 12, 2023

Cost of living are the expenditures require to maintain a defined lifestyle and quality of life. This is typically used to model cost differences by country or city for the purposes of salary negotiation or adjustments. Cost of living can also be used to model the affect of inflation on living costs. Such calculations can be used to determine baseline salary increases over time. The following are examples of things that can be considered in cost of living.

Childcare	Clothing and shoes
Dental care	Dining out
Education	Elderly care
Entertainment	Food
Gifts	Gym membership
Haircuts and beauty services	Health insurance
Healthcare	Hobbies and activities
Home decor	Home furnishings
Home maintenance	Household supplies
Insurance	Internet
Laundry	Lawn care
Mandatory fees and contributions such as pension dues	Medication
Membership fees	Mobile services
Mortgage	Parking fees
Personal care products and services	Pet expenses
Phone bills	Property maintenance
Rent	Repairs
School fees	School supplies
Sports and recreation	Taxes
Technology devices and services	Toiletries
Transportation	Travel
Utilities	Vision care

It is common for cost of living to be estimated using a basket of goods that represent a range of needs associated with a particular lifestyle. For example, the term is often applied to the cost of replicating an American or European lifestyle in a foreign city. As such, estimates of cost of living vary widely as they are typically culture centric.

Overview: Cost Of Living
Type	Human Resource Management
Definition	The cost of maintaining a particular lifestyle by city.
Examples	An employee uses cost of living statistics in salary negotiations when considering a position in a more expensive city than her current location. A company gives employees a cost of living allowance when relocating them overseas to compensate for extra costs.
Related Concepts	Negotiation