2026 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Bloomington, IL vs Bakersfield, CA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Bakersfield or is it cheaper to live in Bloomington?
- Bakersfield is 21.6% more expensive than Bloomington.

Which city has more affordable housing, Bakersfield or Bloomington?
- Bakersfield housing costs are 68.3% more expensive than Bloomington housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Bloomington or is Health Care more affordable in Bakersfield.
- Health related expenses are 16.0% less in Bakersfield.
 Bloomington, ILBakersfield, CAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock99.8100
 Food & Groceries96.1  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock91.6100
 Housing63.4  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$349,300$338,100
 Utilities98  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock103.6100
 Miscellaneous137.5  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Bloomington    18 Reviews

If you're not from here it might be hard to figure out that Bloomington and Normal are actually one city mushed together, so make sure you look up info on Normal, IL  More

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Over 12 years ago

Bloomington-Normal as a city is full of resturants and movie theaters. The downtown bar scene is dominated by ISU, IWU, and HCC students. The colleges can have some fun  More

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Bloomington-Normal as a city is full of resturants and movie theaters. The downtown bar scene is dominated by ISU, IWU, and HCC students. The colleges can have some fun  More

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Reviews for Bakersfield    75 Reviews

I am a millennial, born and raised here. As someone who wrestled with staying for years, there are a lot of valid reasons to not come to Bakersfield. Air quality, summer  More

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Over 5 years ago

I have lived here all of my life. 40+ years. It used to be fun and kinda safe but now it is so scary to go outside. We are literally a homeless dumping ground and there  More

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I moved here from Seattle 25 years ago, when it had a population of 200,000, and practically the only place to get coffee was a place called “Duke’s Ranch”. Why did I  More

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