REGIONAL CHAMBER Cost of living is big benefit, officials say

Outside companies notice the low cost of living, one official said.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning Valley's cost of living is one of its best weapons in the battle to rebuild its economy.
A national survey of 305 urban areas in the United States and Canada by the American Chamber of Commerce shows the cost of living in the Youngstown-Warren region was 8.9 percent below the national average during the fourth quarter of 2004.
Reid Dulberger, executive vice president of the Regional Chamber here, said the survey is one of the "most cost-effective ways to market the area."
He said firms looking for places to locate in this region of the country have told Regional Chamber officials that the low cost of living is one of the area's good points.
"The Valley's cost of living is consistently below the national average and lower than many of the communities we compete with for new jobs," according to Dulberger "That difference does not go unnoticed by the companies we work with."
Youngstown Mayor George McKelvey called the low cost of living "one of the many strengths" of the region that make it attractive "not only to businesses, but also to individuals" looking to relocate.
Dulberger noted the low cost of living was one of the things that attracted the long-distance phone company MCI to open a call center in Niles. Although that center is closed, its demise had nothing to do with the cost of living or the workers, he said.
Item-to-item comparisons
The American Chamber's Cost of Living Index measures differences in the cost of consumer goods and services and is based on more than 60 items grouped into six categories: groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, health care and miscellaneous goods and services.
Prices are collected quarterly by local chambers of commerce, economic development organizations or similar groups in each urban area. In the Mahoning Valley, the Regional Chamber collects the data.
The Valley's overall composite index score was 91.1, based on a national average of 100.
Transportation costs (bus fare, gasoline, vehicle tire balancing) were 8.4 percent below the national average.
Both health-care costs (visiting a doctor and a dentist) and housing costs (apartment rent, price of a new home, mortgage rates and payments) were 14.6 and 17.2 percent lower, respectively.
Miscellaneous goods/services were 9.5 percent below the national average, and utility costs (electric and other energy rates, phone service) were 12.7 percent higher than the national average.
Buying power
The Index shows the cost of living in the Mahoning Valley is 13 percent lower that in Cleveland, 59 percent lower than Washington, D.C., and 132 percent lower than New York City-Manhattan, which has the highest cost of living among metro areas participating in the survey.
To enjoy the same buying power a person earning $25,000 per year in the Youngstown-Warren area would have, one must earn $28,293 living in Cleveland, $39,654 living in Washington, D.C., or $58,068 to live in New York City.