Are you thinking of moving to Purchase, NY? How much does it cost to live in Purchase? Does it really cost more than $13,000 a month for a family to live in Purchase?
It’s expensive to live in Purchase. It cost $13,135 for a family of four to live in Purchase, NY! Keep on reading to find out more. Purchase is one of the wealthiest towns in Westchester County with a mean income of $378,399.
When it comes to living in Purchase, there are many factors to consider. You will have to take into account the cost of commuting, transportation expenses, housing expenses and home maintenance expenses.
For those of you with kids, you will have to take into account childcare, after school enrichment activities, preschool tuition and other child-related expenses.
Use our Purchase Cost of Living Calculator below to find out how much it will cost for you to live in Purchase.
Find out what it’s really like to live in Purchase, NY: Check out our interview with a Purchase resident
Purchase Cost of Living: Commute and Transportation Expense
How Much Does It Cost to Take the Metro North from Purchase to New York City?
Purchase does not have a Metro North train station, Purchase residents who want to commute to NYC can drive to White Plains or Harrison to catch the Metro North train to Manhattan. The drive from Purchase to the White Plains Metro North station is approximately 10 minutes and the drive from Purchase to the Metro North Harrison station is approximately 15 minutes.
If you take the Metro North train every day, you can buy a monthly pass. The monthly Metro North ticket from White Plains to NYC and from Harrison to NYC is $250.25.
How Much Does It Cost to Park at the Purchase Metro North Train station?
The annual parking permit at the White Plains Metro train station is $1,540 a year. For the Purchase calculator, we used $1540 a year which comes out to $128 a month.
In our Purchase cost of living calculator below, we used $378.25 per month as the monthly cost for both the monthly Metro-North train ticket and the Metro-North train station parking.
How Much Does It Cost to Own a Car in Purchase, NY?
Many families in Purchase own at least 2 cars. Keep in mind it is also not uncommon for families in Purchase to have 3 cars, the 3rd car is for the babysitter or Au Pair. If you have a teenager, the 3rd car is for your teenager.
In our Purchase Cost of Living Calculator below, the monthly cost to own a car in Purchase is $639 per car. This includes car payments, insurance, gas, and tolls. We priced out a $450 per month lease which can get you a Toyota Highlander.
Purchase Cost of Living: Childcare Expense
How Much Does Childcare Cost in Purchase, NY?
Childcare is a big expense for families in Purchase with young children. Fortunately for families in Purchase, there are many childcare options available to families. You can enroll your child in a Daycare program, or hire babysitters, or a live-in au pair.
How Much Does Daycare Cost in Purchase, NY?
You can enroll your child in a full-time daycare in Purchase which will cost approximately $2000 a month.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire Babysitters in Purchase, NY?
Live-out Babysitters in Purchase can range from $15-$25 per hour. Depending on your household arrangement, you may have 2 full-time working parents so you will need a full-time babysitter.
Families with a stay-at-home parent might only need help on a part-time basis. Many families that have kids in school may only need an after-school sitter to drive the kids to after-school sports and enrichment activities.
Or there are families who have their kids in daycare and will only need occasional babysitting on the weekends.
In our Purchase Cost of Living Calculator below, we broke down the babysitter option to Full time (40 hours/week), Part-Time (20 Hours/Week), or Occasional (5 Hours/Week) based on a rate of $20 per hour.
How Much Does It Cost to Have Au Pairs in Purchase?
The third childcare option is to have an Au Pair. Au Pairs are a great value because they generally cost $800 a month and $9000 fees so around $18,600 per year and you can get 45 hours a week of childcare.
However, Au Pairs live in your house so you will have to take into account housing expenses, food expenses, cellphone subscription expenses, and other miscellaneous expenses associated with having an extra person living in your home.
In our Purchase Cost of Living Calculator, we used $1800 per month for the monthly Au Pair expense which includes the Au Pair fee and living expenses.
How Much is Preschool Tuition in Purchase?
Preschool tuition in Purchase varies by the number of days and the type of preschool.
For example, at Purchase Children’s Center, 5 days of Preschool tuition is $12,325 a year.
In our Purchase Cost of Living Calculator, we used $1027 per month for preschool tuition.
Need help finding a Preschool or Daycare in Purchase? Check out our Guide to Preschools in Purchase
How Much Is Private School Tuition in Purchase?
We also included Private School tuition in our calculator below. It is not uncommon for families to start off at the public school system and then later move their kids to private school, so we included private school tuition as a field in the calculator below. The Private School tuition is $40,000 a year or $3,333 per month.
Are you thinking of sending your child to private school? Check out our Private School Finder and Private School Admissions Advice
How Much Does Sport and After School Enrichment Cost in Purchase?
Many families move to Purchase for the top-rated public school system. However, even if you send your child to Public School, you will most likely incur some tuition and enrichment expenses.
It is common for children in Purchase to be enrolled in some type of enrichment program either after school or during the weekend.
In our Purchase Cost of Living Calculator, we used $144 per month as the cost for enrichment if your child is enrolled in a 1x a week sports program or enrichment class.
We calculated the cost of after school programs and enrichment based on $36 per class (enrichment and sports classes can vary from $25 per class to $50+ per class depending on what sports you do and if it is a private lesson or group lesson).
Purchase Cost of Living: Health and Fitness Expense
How much are Gym Memberships in Purchase?
Many families are members of a local gym, the price will depend on the gym and the type of membership. SoulCycle is $360 for 10 classes while a family membership at Lifetime Fitness is $539 a month.
For the Purchase Cost of Living Calculator, we used $300 per month for a family gym membership.
Check out: The Truth About Living in Purchase, NY
Purchase Cost of Living: Housing Expense
Mortgage Expense
In the Purchase Cost of Living Calculator, you will see that there is a mortgage calculator component. This is so you can include your monthly housing payment with homeowners insurance and real estate tax.
If you don’t know the cost of your homeowner’s insurance or property taxes, you can use the preset number in the field.
How Much is Home Maintenance and Utilities in Purchase?
Our Purchase Cost of Living Calculator will not be complete without including home maintenance and monthly utilities. Utilities include water, gas, electric, and cable/internet.
Home maintenance includes home repairs and exterior maintenance such as landscaping, snow shoveling, and Tick and Mosquito spray for the yard.
In our Purchase Cost Calculator below, the exterior maintenance is based on $433.33 per month for a 1-acre yard and home repairs and Utilities are based on $0.17 per square foot per month.
How Much Does it Cost for a Family of Four to Live in Purchase, NY?
How much does it cost for a family of four to live in Purchase? Let’s price out the cost of living for a family of four in Purchase.
Let’s say one child is in preschool and the other one is enrolled at Purchase’s public school. The older child is enrolled in after-school enrichment programs 2x a week.
They have a part-time babysitter that helps out for 20 hours a week. The family has a housekeeper that comes in to clean the house once a week.
They live in a 2100 square feet home in Purchase on a 0.5-acre lot. They have a 30-year mortgage on their $1,200,000 home* (loan amount is $960,000) with taxes of $23,395 a year and homeowners insurance of $5400 a year.
Our Purchase family owns 2 cars. Dad commutes to NYC, he takes the Metro North train to Manhattan. Mom is a stay at home mom. And they have a gym membership at a local gym.
According to our Cost of Living Calculator, it will cost a family of four $13,135 per month to live in Purchase. Remember this only includes housing, transportation and childcare expenses. You will still need to add food, family vacations, entertainment, clothing, country club membership fees and other miscellaneous expenses.
*Home price, real estate taxes, square feet and lot size is based on an actual home in Purchase, NY. We used 6.85% as our mortgage interest rate. We also picked a home that is close to the median sales price of homes.
Check out our Insider’s Guide to Country Clubs in Westchester County
Purchase Cost of Living Calculator
Use the Purchase Cost of Living Calculator below to find out how much it costs to live in Purchase. Use the slider and fill in the fields with your information.
If you leave a field blank or keep the slider at zero, it will not include that field in the total monthly calculation.
We’ve prefilled the Mortgage loan amount, interest rate, real estate tax, and homeowners insurance, feel free to change it.
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