The cost of groceries in Flathead County dropped while utilities climbed closer to the national average from the first to second quarter of this year, according to the latest cost-of-living index figures released this week by the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association (ACCRA).
Groceries, still the top expense in the area, fell 4.6 percent to a score of 111.7. The national average is represented by a score of 100.
The cost of local gas and electric utilities saw the sharpest climb, rising 6.1 percent to 88.3.
Health care, the second costliest expense in the area, inched up 2.6 percent to a score of 107.2.
Local housing costs went up 2.9 percent but remain below national averages with a score of 98.1.
Overall, Flathead County’s composite cost-of-living score rose .5 percent and remains just below the national average with a mark of 99.3. In 2010, the composite score for the county was 101.
“I would say these are fairly representative of how the stats have been for the period of time that we’ve been keeping track,” Joe Unterreiner, president of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, said. “We really have not seen very much variance in these percentages. The variance has been pretty consistent over the years.”
The cost-of-living index measures the prices of 57 consumer goods and services, excluding tax and non-consumer expenditures. The Chamber of Commerce collects data in Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Bigfork three times a year and submits the findings to ACCRA, which then compares the data with 314 other communities. Missoula and Bozeman are the other two cities in the state to submit data to ACCRA.
“We try to get a broad representation of the region,” Unterreiner said.
Missoula has a composite score of 99.5 while Bozeman is above the national average with 101.2, according to the latest information.
Housing prices in Flathead County are higher than both Missoula (91.7) and Bozeman (94.2). Bozeman’s cost of housing dropped nearly nine percent from the first to second quarter.
Missoula has higher costs for utilities (99.9) and miscellaneous goods and services (102.5) than Flathead County. Compared locally, Bozeman has higher costs in groceries (112.7), utilities (91.5) and miscellaneous goods and services (107.2).
Local transportation prices dropped slightly, falling 1.1 percent to a mark of 102.5. Bozeman is at 96.4 and Missoula comes in at 98.7.
According to last year’s data, the annual averages for the area shows groceries being the highest expense at 119.5, followed by health care at 103.1.
Manhattan in New York City remains the most expensive city in the country, according to the ACCRA cost-of-living index.
The composite score for Manhattan rose almost 20 percent to 220.7. Brooklyn, New York, is second overall at 182.1.
The town participating in the ACCRA survey with the lowest composite score was Harlingen, Texas, with 80.6.