Are you thinking of moving to Stamford, CT? How much does it cost to live in Stamford? Does it really cost more than $10,000 a month for a family to live in Stamford?
It costs $10,959.57 a month for a family of four to live in Stamford, CT.
When it comes to living in Stamford, 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 Stamford Cost of Living Calculator below to find out how much it will cost for you to live in Stamford, CT.
Check out: Guide to Living in Stamford
Stamford Cost of Living: Commute and Transportation Expense
How Much Does It Cost to Take the Metro North from Stamford to New York City?
Stamford has a metro north train station. And lucky for Stamford residents, it is a transportation hub so there are a lot of express trains going to Stamford from NYC.
If you take the Metro North train every day, you can buy a monthly pass. The monthly Metro North ticket to NYC is $301.50.
How Much Does It Cost to Park at the Metro North Train Station?
If you park at the Stamford Metro North train station, the parking permit is $840 a year.
In our Stamford cost of living calculator below, we used $350 per month as the monthly cost for both the monthly Metro-North train ticket and the Metro-North train station parking.
Check out our Guide to Metro North Train Station Parking in Fairfield County
How Much Does It Cost to Own a Car in Stamford?
You need a car to get around in Stamford. In our Stamford Cost of Living Calculator below, the monthly cost to own a car in Stamford 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.
Check out: Where to live- Stamford, CT vs White Plains, NY
Stamford Cost of Living: Childcare Expense
How Much Does Childcare Cost in Stamford?
Childcare is a big expense for families in Stamford with young children. Fortunately for families in Stamford, 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 Stamford?
You can enroll your child in a full-time daycare in Stamford which will cost approximately $2000 a month.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire Babysitters in Stamford?
Live-out Babysitters in Stamford 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 Stamford 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 Stamford?
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 Stamford Cost of Living Calculator, we used $1800 per month for the monthly Au Pair expense which includes the Au Pair fee and living expenses.
Check out the best beaches, pools and splash pads in Stamford, CT
How Much is Preschool Tuition in Stamford?
Preschool tuition in Stamford varies by the number of days and the type of preschool.
For example, 5 days of preschool at the JCC in Stamford is $17,990 a year and 5 days of full day preschool at Union Memorial Preschool is $10,390 a year.
In our Stamford Cost of Living Calculator, we used $1000 per month for preschool tuition.
How Much Is Private School Tuition in Stamford?
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.
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 Admissions Advice
How Much Does Sport and After School Enrichment Cost in Stamford?
Many families move to Stamford for the 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 Stamford to be enrolled in some type of enrichment program either after school or during the weekend.
In our Stamford 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).
Stamford Cost of Living: Health and Fitness Expense
How much are Gym Memberships in Stamford?
Many families are members of a local gym, the price will depend on the gym and the type of membership.
For the Stamford Cost of Living Calculator, we used $300 per month for a family gym membership.
Check out the best happy hours in Stamford, CT
Stamford Cost of Living: Housing Expense
Mortgage Expense
In the Stamford 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 Stamford?
Our Stamford 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 Stamford 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 Stamford, NY?
How much does it cost for a family of four to live in Stamford? Let’s price out the cost of living for a family of four in Stamford.
Let’s say one child is in daycare and the other one is enrolled at Stamford’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 2,428 square feet, 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in Stamford on a 0.24 acre lot. They have a 30-year mortgage on their $600,000 home* (loan amount is $480,000) with taxes of $9,176 a year and homeowners insurance of $3,000 a year.
Our Stamford family owns 2 cars. Dad takes the train to NYC and Mom drives to work. And they have a gym membership at a local gym.
According to our Stamford Cost of Living Calculator, it will cost $10,959.57 per month for a family of four to live in Stamford. Remember, this does not even include food, family vacations, clothing, entertainment, and other miscellaneous expense!
*Home price, real estate taxes, square feet and lot size is based on an actual home in Stamford, 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.
Find out what it’s like to live in Stamford, CT. Check out our interview with a Stamford mom
Stamford Cost of Living Calculator
Use the Stamford Cost of Living Calculator below to find out how much it costs to live in Stamford. 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.
If you live in a condominium, you can leave the Size of Lot field at zero.
We’ve prefilled the Mortgage loan amount, interest rate, real estate tax, and homeowners insurance, feel free to change it.
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