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S.D. County expensive but could be worse
By Melissa Wirkus

As real estate prices continue to soar across the U.S. certain cities have been raising other prices as well, which has resulted in a higher cost-of-living.
Some cities tower over the rest with their cost-of-living index. These cities are all located on the coasts.
San Diego County has a high cost-of-living index, much higher than the majority of U.S. cities, but it still fell short of the top 10 higher cost-of-living cities, according to the quarterly cost-of-living index released by the Council for Community and Economic Research, or ACCRA.
San Diego County just missed being in the top 10 with a cost-of-living index rating of 142.8. The tenth highest cost-of-living city is Queens, N.Y. with a rating of 143.7.
Dean Calbreath explains how San Diego County narrowly escaped being named one of the 10 highest cost-of-living cities in the U.S. in his August 26, 2006 article, “S.D. County falls just short of top 10 list for its cost of living” located in The San Diego Union-Tribune.
“The cost-of-living index is a tool used by many businesses to determine average wage versus spending. “ACCRA's calculations are based on the prices of nearly 60 goods and services, including such items as a T-bone steak, haircut, visit to the doctor and tire alignment.”
Although San Diego County is very high on the list, there are five other California areas that have a higher cost-of-living index. San Francisco has the second highest cost-of-living rating at 169.4.
California is known for having high cost-of-living cities. One thing the California cities had in common was that they all had average real estate prices that were more than twice the national average. ACCRA's housing index shows that San Diego’s real estate prices are 2.2 times higher than the national average, while San Francisco is 2.75 times the national average.
“‘The housing number really drives the overall cost-of-living number,’ ACCRA research analyst Julie Allardyce said. ‘We've already seen some of the housing prices in San Diego fall a little bit, but it's too early to tell what effect the softening in the real estate market might have on the overall numbers.’”
But there is some good news for prospective home buyers in the San Diego area. The housing costs which are represented in the index, uses a model four-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home for comparison.
“The price of ACCRA's model home in San Diego has dropped nearly 7 percent over the past year, sliding to $688,315 in the second quarter of 2006 from $737,733 the same time a year earlier. But that's still well above the national median of $310,851.”
San Diego’s housing prices are high, but show signs of slowing down. Even though home prices do count for a large part of the cost-of-living index, other factors are what drove San Diego County to number 11 on the list.
“According to ACCRA's data, San Diegans spend an average of 26 percent more than the national median for Ibuprofen, 25 percent more for a gallon of milk, 23 percent more to go to the movies, 13 percent more for a round of bowling and 11 percent more for a bottle of shampoo.”
San Diego County has high home prices but even higher priced consumer products, in relation to other U.S. cities.
Perhaps San Diego County should build a few more wholesale stores.

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