BLOOMINGTON - At work, at home and around the community, consumers everywhere talk about the cost of gas, groceries and heat. Now they can throw some recent national statistics into their conversations.

A national survey stacks the Twin Cities against other communities across the country on prices for items ranging from a half-gallon of whole milk to an annual vet exam for a 4-year-old dog.

In its American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association cost of living index, the Virginia-based Council for Community and Economic Research shows Bloomington-Normal had an average cost of living index of 94.4 in 2007. The overall index includes the average prices for goods from the first three quarters of 2007 in six categories - grocery items, housing, utilities, transportation, health care and miscellaneous goods and services. A ranking of 100 would be average.

At about six points below the national average, that figure is a compliment to the area, said Michael Malone, executive director of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce, which price checks items in the survey. A low unemployment rate and a strong work force are reasons why it is cheaper to live in Bloomington-Normal than other parts of the country, he said.

"We're not the cheapest place in the world to live, for sure," Malone said. "By far, we're not the most expensive place to live."

Of the 303 urban areas that participated in the survey, New York tallied the highest cost of living index at 212.8. Joplin, Mo., is the least expensive place to live with a cost of living index of 81. Among the 10 Illinois areas, Bloomington-Normal has the sixth-highest cost of living index.

Participation in the survey is the chamber's contribution to economic and business development in town, Malone said. Businesses look at such survey data when they decide whether to locate in a certain community, he said. Residents also can look at the cost of living information along with the quality of life and schools in a community when they decide where to move, he said.

"This is just a part of the puzzle," Malone said.

The cost of living index is probably a minor consideration in a family's decision to move, said Gary Koppenhaver, chair of the finance, insurance and law department in the College of Business at Illinois State University. People go where the jobs are, but businesses want to know a community will be a reasonable place for employees to live, he said.

"It is interesting, to me, that some things are higher and some things are lower here … It's still good to know a little bit," Koppenhaver said. "It's a talking point, but I suppose its most value would be trying to recruit businesses to come to town."

In Bloomington-Normal, residents' housing costs rank as the best value among the six categories, with an index of 83 percent. That places the Twin Cities as the third-cheapest area in the state for housing.

But housing costs only include apartment rent and mortgage principal and interest. Actual housing expenses in town probably would be higher than some other communities if property taxes were part of the statistics, Koppenhaver said.

On the flip side, transportation and grocery items cost Twin City residents the most.

Transportation, which includes gasoline and auto maintenance, had an index of 105, a little higher than the rest of the country but among the middle of the pack in Illinois. Grocery items had a cost of living index of 100.3, the third most expensive area in the state, behind Chicago and the Joliet-Will County area.

What it costs

A national survey shows the average prices for about 60 items from the first three quarters of 2007 in Bloomington-Normal and 302 other urban areas. Following is a sample of the cost for some items in the Twin Cities.

• T-bone steak - $8.86 per pound

• Half-gallon of whole milk - $1.89

• Dozen eggs - $1.38

• Two-bedroom, 1 1/2- or 2-bath, 950-square-foot apartment - $669

• 2,400-square foot home, 8,000 square-foot lot, all utilities - $255,936

• Monthly energy cost for above home - $167.45

• Adult eye exam - $75.40

• Doctor visit - $84.73

• Advil, 50 tablets, 200 mg - $5.58

• McDonald's quarter-pounder with cheese - $2.72

• Woman's shampoo, trim and blow-dry - $26.07

• Crest or Colgate 6-ounce to 6.4-ounce toothpaste - $2.36

• Men's dress shirt - $19.69

• Bowling one game, Saturday night - $3.08

• Veterinary service for a 4-year-old dog - $35.55