Morgantown’s above-average housing prices negated other low-cost categories and drove the area’s overall cost of living 5.6 percent higher than the national average in early 2014, according to a survey released Monday by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at West Virginia University and the Council for Community and Economic Research.

The survey indicated housing prices in Morgantown were 14.2 percent higher than the rest of the United States. In contrast to housing, however, several other cost of living categories, such as health care, fall below the national average.

“The report provides some positive news as well as some negative,” said BBER Director John Deskins.

“The high cost of housing is a significant concern as business leaders and policymakers work to make Morgantown attractive to families that may consider moving here. But lower-than-average costs in several other areas, such as health care, transportation, utilities, and groceries, provide encouraging news,” Deskins said.

The BBER is housed within the University’s College of Business and Economics.

The report also examines how the cost of living in Morgantown compares to that of several other cities across the U.S.

“The cost of living is higher in Morgantown than in several other university cities, such as Columbus, Ohio, Knoxville, Tennessee, Lexington, Kentucky, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,” said Eric Bowen, BBER economist.

“However, an important bright spot is that the cost of living in Morgantown is below that of most major U.S. metropolitan areas, and by a significant margin in some cases,” Bowen said.

The survey data are used to calculate a cost of living index that measures a city’s relative cost of living in comparison to the national average. The survey included six categories, including groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, health care and miscellaneous purchases. These categories are then combined and plugged into a formula that creates a composite score for each city.

The full report is available from the WVU Bureau of Business and Economic Research for free download in PDF format at be.wvu.edu/bber. Visit be.wvu.edu/bber/publications.aspx to view the report and other publications by the BBER. For further information about the WVU College of Business and Economics, visit be.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

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CONTACT: John Deskins, Ph.D., WVU College of Business and Economics
304.293.7876, John.Deskins@mail.wvu.edu

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