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Will the $600 Stimulus Cover Housing Costs?

With the newly released Quarter 4, 2020 Cost of Living Index, C2ER researchers looked at what metro areas have rental and home mortgage payments where the $600 stimulus would cover one month of housing expenses. Geographically these cities are focused in the South and Midwest.

Amarillo, TX is the only city in the table below where 100% of the monthly mortgage payment is low enough to use stimulus money from one person. Combined with home prices, the monthly rate is calculated using a 30-year interest rate. Apartment rent falls below $600 in five U.S. cities according to the Quarter 4, 2020 report.

The 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. It is based on more than 90,000 prices covering 60 different items for which prices are collected quarterly by chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, and university applied economic centers in each participating urban area.

If you need additional information on the Cost of Living Index or other COLI-related products such as the COLI Web Calculator and the COLI Historical Index, please contact Jennie Allison at jallison@crec.net or by phone at 703-522-4980.

For more information Download the Full Quarter 4, 2020 Press Release Here

Please note this publication is a replacement for the Quarter 2, 2020 report that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.