Dorchester Housing Costs: 52% Below U.S. Average, 29% Less Than Lincoln

If you follow the Times regularly, and you read today's earlier post about Dorchester's

electricity rates, you knew there would be reaction -- both good and negative.  

(Editor's Note: Even when we point out problems, we are always disappointed to see how quickly some people -- friends whom we know and like -- are to publicly disparage the community in which they live.  We wish they would change their ways or just keep quiet on social media.)

Going forward, town leaders should work to find ways to ensure that Dorchester's electric rates are always at or below the state average.  

But we want to remind Dorchester residents of the community's best-kept secret: it's cost-of-living advantage.  

Most of our readers know already that we have it pretty good in Dorchester. Now it has been confirmed by Sperling's Best Places -- a national website that provides data on thousands of metro areas, cities, and neighborhoods.  

We used Sperling's cost-of-living index to see how Dorchester stacks up. Keep in mind that Sperling's indices are based on a U.S. average of 100.  An amount below 100 means Dorchester is cheaper than the U.S. average.  A cost-of-living score above 100 means Dorchester is more expensive.  

Below are the results.

Here's what the analysis tells us:

• Dorchester housing (almost always a family's or individual's biggest expense) is a whopping 52% cheaper than the U.S. average.  This include mortgage, rent and property tax.  52% cheaper -- let this one sink in!
• Groceries in our area stores are 5% cheaper than the U.S. average.
• Health care services in our area are 6% cheaper than the U.S. average.
• Transportation -- which includes gasoline and auto repair -- is 6% cheaper than the U.S. average.

Overall, Dorchester's cost of living is 79.70 based on a U.S. average of 100.  That means in every category other than utilities, Dorchester is less expensive than the U.S. average. 

Other key findings from our research on Sperling's:

• Dorchester holds a cost-of-living advantage over Crete, Friend, Wilber, Pleasant Dale, Milford, and other nearby communities.
• Dorchester's utility rates, according to Sperling's, are in line with Friend, Crete and Wilber -- and are cheaper than Milford and Pleasant Dale (which had an index score of 107).
• John Cougar Mellencamp once sang: "Got nothin' against the big town." And we say the same thing.  But housing in Lincoln and Omaha is nearly 29% more than Dorchester.