what is the cheapest city to live in in the united states
When it comes to cheap living, the all-time places to settle downward are mostly south of the Stonemason-Dixon line. Texas, Tennessee and Alabama are just a few states making multiple appearances on our list.
But if you're thinking nearly relocating to ane of these cheapest U.S. cities to live in, just recall to weigh the pros and cons. A low cost of living is attractive, but the allure lessens if jobs are hard to come up by, paychecks are small or the expanse offers picayune to do. Plan an extended visit to ensure the city fits your needs.
We compiled our rankings based on the Council for Community and Economic Enquiry'south (C2ER) calculations of living expenses in 290 urban areas. We then limited ourselves to metro areas with at least 50,000 inhabitants. For smaller urban areas, be sure to read our list of the 12 Cheapest Minor Towns in America.
In both cases, C2ER'south Cost of Living Index measures prices for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, healthcare, and miscellaneous goods and services, such as going to a picture show or getting your hair done at a salon.
Read on for our latest list of the cheapest U.Southward. cities to live in.
The Cost of Living Index is based on cost data nerveless during the second quarter of 2021. Metro-level data on populations, household incomes, habitation values, poverty rates and other demographics come from the U.S. Census Bureau. Metropolitan area unemployment rates are as of Sept. 29 for the month of Baronial, and are not seasonally adjusted.
25. Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Cost of living: thirteen.2% beneath U.South. boilerplate
- Metro population: 413,263
- Median household income: $57,287 (U.Due south.: $65,712)
- Median home value: $143,800 (U.South.: $240,500)
- Unemployment charge per unit: 4.9% (U.S.: 4.8%)
The Fort Wayne metro area offers an enviable combination of affordability and civilities. Not only does this Northeast Indiana city host a collection of pleasant and quiet neighborhoods, only information technology also boasts a thriving arts scene with year-circular festivals and events. The annual Iii Rivers Festival is just i such family unit-friendly summertime favorite.
Indeed, the three local rivers – the St. Marys, the St. Joseph and the Maumee – are a master characteristic of the area, providing ample opportunities for canoeing, kayaking and cruising.
As is usually the case, affordable housing is the chief driver of the metro area's comparatively low cost of living. Residents spend 34% less on housing costs – including mortgages, rents and related expenses – than what the typical American pays to keep a roof over his or her caput. Grocery items and utilities are also notably cheaper compared against national averages, helping to secure Fort Wayne's spot among the cheapest U.S. cities to live in.
Happily, the metro area's unemployment rate has dropped sharply from concluding yr's pandemic-caused spike, and compares favorably with the national level. Parkview Wellness, General Motors (GM) and Lincoln Fiscal Grouping (LNC) are just a few of the metro expanse'south major employers.
24. Savannah, Georgia
- Price of living: 13.three% below U.S. average
- Metro population: 393,353
- Median household income: $60,371
- Median dwelling house value: $201,000
- Unemployment charge per unit: iii.1%
To outsiders, Savannah is probably best known as a tourist destination, famous for its massive oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, National Celebrated Landmark Districts, steamy summers and Southern Gothic charm.
But those who phone call Savannah abode know how surprisingly affordable it can be. The overall cost of living in Georgia's oldest urban center (founded in 1733) runs xiii.3% below the national boilerplate, led by housing costs that are 36% less than what the typical American pays. Utilities, groceries and transportation are also relative bargains, but healthcare is almost 11% college than the U.S. average.
Low prices are simply part of Savannah's appeal. Indeed, from moving-picture show to way, the metro area punches well above its weight when it comes to cultural offerings. The Savannah College of Art and Design's almanac Savannah Film Festival is a must for cinephiles. Savannah State University and the Armstrong Campus of Georgia Southern Academy too make homes in "The Hostess City of the South."
Naturally, as with most of the cheapest U.S. cities on this list, prices can vary beyond the metro area. Median household income in the urban center of Savannah proper (pop. 144,457) is about $15,000 less than the metro area level of $sixty,371. The city suffers from lower median domicile values, higher unemployment and a higher poverty charge per unit, likewise.
23. Decatur/Hartselle, Alabama
- Cost of living: 13.iv% beneath U.S. average
- Metro population: 152,603
- Median household income: $53,447
- Median habitation value: $142,900
- Unemployment rate: two.6%
Decatur and Hartselle are ii Northern Alabama cities with an abundance of outdoor activities, cultural diversions and low costs of living. Decatur'due south economy benefits from being one of the busiest ports on the Tennessee River, and from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in nearby Huntsville. Tourism is another driver of the local economy, cheers to the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, the Carnegie Visual Arts Center and festivals such every bit the Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Classic.
Nearby Hartselle, almost 10 miles s, shares the charms of its neighbor to the north. Residents tin can cool off in the summertime at the metropolis's sprawling aquatic center, which includes a water slide and diving platform. And Southern history buffs will desire to stroll through the Hartselle Downtown Commercial Historic District, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Residents can enjoy all this and more than without breaking the bank. Decatur's housing-related costs, including mortgages and rents, are about 34% cheaper than the national average. Apartment rents are around 43% less than what the average American shells out every month. Prices on a broad range of goods and services, from pizza to haircuts to dry out cleaning, are cheaper, besides.
22. Lynchburg, Virginia
- Cost of living: 13.4% below U.S. average
- Metro population: 266,186
- Median household income: $57,736
- Median home value: $174,000
- Unemployment rate: 4.0%
Lynchburg sits in the foothills of the famed Blueish Ridge Mountains and is home to Liberty University, the metropolis's largest employer. But a multifariousness of businesses and industries makes the metro expanse more just a college town.
A comparatively resilient job market place – the unemployment charge per unit stands well below the national level – and a low price of living assistance explain how Lynchburg has ranked near the superlative of Gallup'south well-being index.
The "City of Seven Hills" makes this list of cheapest U.South. cities to live in largely considering its residents spend nearly a quarter less than the national average on housing costs. Groceries and transportation costs run beneath what the boilerplate American pays, too.
But while Lynchburg is America's cheapest cities, not every concluding thing is less expensive here. Utilities do cost a little more than the national boilerplate, for instance. Beer, a picture ticket or a visit to the optometrist are a bit pricier than average, too.
21. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Cost of living: 13.6% below U.S. average
- Metro population: 676,008
- Median household income: $52,322
- Median home value: $164,800
- Unemployment rate: four.three%
The Winston-Salem metro area – and its enclave of Thomasville-Lexington, in item – packs tons of Southern hospitality at a price everyone from singles to families to retirees will similar.
Not simply practice living costs fall more 13% beneath the national average, but the Tar Heel State doesn't tax Social Security benefits. Winston-Salem doesn't lack things to do, either: Six colleges, 75 recreational parks and 33 wineries call the region abode, and Winston-Salem'southward theater and visual arts heritage earned information technology the nickname "The City of the Arts." It too boasts a huge healthcare sector, then doctors and specialists are not difficult to detect.
Median household income is merely about 80% of the U.Southward. average, only then and so is median home value. Indeed, in Thomasville-Lexington, overall housing costs are 31% lower. Transportation, meanwhile, is about 30% less expensive than the national boilerplate. On the downside, prices in the aforementioned healthcare sector do run a fleck hot, or more than 22.2% in a higher place the U.Due south. average.
Residents of Thomasville-Lexington will find deals on all manner of other goods and services, however. The average apartment rents for $766 per calendar month, vs. the national boilerplate of $1,215. Plus, sugar is almost 24% less expensive, gas runs cheaper past xi% and you'll salve a large bundle having your tires rebalanced.
20. Mobile, Alabama
- Cost of living: 13.ix% below U.Due south. boilerplate
- Metro population: 428,039
- Median household income: $49,561
- Median home value: $139,000
- Unemployment rate: 4.eight%
The city of Mobile, Alabama, was founded in 1702 by the French and for the side by side century served as a colony of France, England and Spain. The colonial past and a mixture of Creole, African and Cosmic heritage gives Mobile one of the more distinctive cultures of whatever American city.
Additionally, Mobile stands out as a Gulf Coast jewel, with numerous art museums, a symphony orchestra, a professional opera and a professional person ballet company. For those in search of more raucous pursuits, Mobile happens to host the oldest organized Mardi Gras festivities in the U.S.
Happily, the metro area and its affluence of activities and traditions come with affordable living costs, which stand almost fourteen% below the national boilerplate. Housing costs are particularly affordable, or almost 35% less than what the typical American pays. Transportation and utilities are comparative bargains also help Mobile maintain its place amid the cheapest U.Due south. cities to live in.
Just notation that healthcare expenses run almost vii% above the national average.
As a port city, it should come every bit no surprise that shipbuilder Austal USA is among the area's major employers. However, jobs abound in healthcare, high tech and technology also.
19. Lake Charles, Louisiana
- Cost of living: 13.9% below U.S. average
- Metro population: 209,035
- Median household income: $51,547
- Median domicile value: $164,700
- Unemployment charge per unit: 5.v%
From cajun cooking to classical music to petrochemicals, Lake Charles, Louisiana, has something for everyone – and at reasonable prices too.
Situated on the Gulf Coast – and boasting extensive lakes and waterways – the metro surface area is as platonic for outdoor recreational activities equally it is for oil refineries, liquid natural gas terminals and petrochemical plants. Casino gambling, tourism, museums, golf courses, a symphony orchestra, professional person sports teams and McNeese Land Academy are just some of the offerings and attractions to be found in the region.
And let'south non forget the culinary culture. Lake Charles cookouts are the perfect opportunity to indulge in a classic Louisiana shrimp boil, complete with crawfish, corn and potatoes. This being Cajun country, boudin sausage stuffed with pork, seafood or even alligator is popular too.
Meanwhile, living costs run nearly fourteen% below the national average, led, as per usual, past housing, which is 23.three% cheaper than what the typical American pays. Utilities are an even bigger bargain, with residents saving 26% on their bills vs. the national boilerplate.
Sadly, there's another office of the equation when information technology comes to the metro area'due south low toll of living. The poverty rate of 20.4% is about 10% higher than the state level, and towers over the U.S. rate of 12.3%.
eighteen. Decatur, Illinois
- Cost of living: 14.2% below U.S. average
- Metro population: 104,009
- Median household income: $50,839
- Median domicile value: $105,500
- Unemployment rate: 8.ii%
Decatur, Illinois, and its surrounding metro expanse is probably all-time known as an agricultural and manufacturing center. Archer Daniel Midland (ADM) moved its headquarters to Chicago in 2013 but maintains pregnant operations in this Central Illinois city. Caterpillar (True cat), the earth's largest maker of construction and mining equipment, has facilities there. Decatur besides lays claim to a massive corn-processing plant owned by U.K.-based food ingredients company Tate & Lyle (TATYY).
ADM'southward departure following a price-fixing scandal was a accident to the local economic system, and Decatur struggles with elevated unemployment to this 24-hour interval. A price of living that's xiv.2% below the national average is partly a symptom of ADM'south leave, but at least it's as well something of a relieve.
Housing costs are roughly thirty% lower than the national average in metro Decatur, and healthcare and groceries are notably cheaper too. Residents save 13% on a doctor's appointment, for example, while a half-gallon of milk costs xx% less than the national average.
Decatur's status as one of the cheapest U.S. cities to alive in is no doubt appreciated by its meaning educatee population, which includes Millikin University's 2,000 students and the more than five,000 people taking classes at Richland Community College.
17. Memphis, Tennessee
- Cost of living: fourteen.6% below U.South. average
- Metro population: 1,369,904
- Median household income: $54,295
- Median habitation value: $167,800
- Unemployment rate: six.1%
To say that real estate is inexpensive in the Memphis metro expanse is an understatement. Average dwelling prices come to $309,222 – an corporeality that would elicit screams from people who alive in the nigh expensive U.S. cities. (The national average stands at $395,284, per C2ER.) Renters benefit, too. A typical apartment in Memphis rents for nigh $200 a calendar month less than the U.S. boilerplate.
The pandemic recession hurt the local economic system, only there'due south good work if you tin can go it. Proximity to the mighty Mississippi River makes Memphis a hub for the shipping and transportation industries. Three Fortune 500 companies – FedEx (FDX), International Newspaper (IP) and AutoZone (AZO) – telephone call the metropolis home.
You lot'll too find numerous colleges and universities, an NBA franchise, mouthwatering ribs and, of course, Graceland.
xvi. Conway, Arkansas
- Toll of living: 14.7% beneath U.S. average
- Metropolis population: 67,640
- Median household income: $46,805
- Median habitation value: $202,500
- Unemployment rate: iii.6%
The city of Conway – an affordable enclave in the Little Rock-Due north Little Stone-Conway metro area – is home to a number of high-tech companies, such equally digital marketing house Acxiom, and post-secondary educational institutions, including the University of Central Arkansas.
Shut proximity to the Arkansas River and Lake Conway makes the city platonic for line-fishing and water sports, and there'south aplenty infinite for hunting. Nevertheless y'all can bulldoze to the state capital of Little Rock in a half-hour or so.
While Conway'south median home value is among the highest on the listing of the 25 cheapest U.Due south. cities, the effigy is still below the U.Due south. median, and housing-related expenses, including utilities, are minor. Relatively low costs for healthcare also contribute to Conway'southward affordability.
15. Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa
- Cost of living: 14.nine% below U.S. boilerplate
- Metro population: 168,522
- Median household income: $63,131
- Median home value: $158,500
- Unemployment rate: 4.0%
The Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa, metro surface area is a manufacturing and agronomical center. And while entertainment and nightlife options might be minimal, outdoor and cultural activities abound.
Sportier types can take advantage of the many waterfront parks and a 52-mile bike trail running to Cedar Rapids. For a lazier afternoon, residents tin can relish the xl-acre Cedar Valley Arboretum & Botanic Gardens. The surface area also hosts two noted science museums and the highly regarded Waterloo Center for the Arts.
As for higher education, Cedar Falls is home to the Academy of Northern Iowa, which is where NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner played during his college days.
Major employers include agricultural mechanism manufacturer Deere (DE), Tyson Foods (TSN) and discount retailer Target (TGT), which helps keep the unemployment charge per unit under wraps.
All in all, it's a Midwestern setting with typically affordable Midwestern prices. The metro area'south toll of living is almost 15% below the national average, led by a 21.5% discount on housing costs.
fourteen. Florence, Alabama
- Cost of living: xv.ii% beneath U.S. average
- Metro population: 147,970
- Median household income: $45,824
- Median dwelling house value: $145,500
- Unemployment rate: three.v%
The city of Florence, the birthplace of Helen Keller, sits in the northwest corner of Alabama on the Tennessee River, about a ii-hour drive from Birmingham.
Florence – too equally the surrounding metro expanse, known as The Shoals – boast a number of other attractions. The nearby Muscle Shoals Sound Studio has a rich history; information technology's where The Rolling Stones recorded the hitting songs "Wild Horses" and "Brownish Sugar." Florence claims Alabama'southward only house designed by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The city also hosts the Academy of North Alabama.
Happily for residents of Florence, the urban center's distinctive sites and southern charm come at a reasonable cost. Housing-related expenses are 32% lower than what the average American pays. For instance, the boilerplate apartment rents for $626, which is about half the national average. Healthcare costs almost a fifth less in Florence.
All other major expenses tracked by the Toll of Living Alphabetize likewise take a smaller seize with teeth of folks' paychecks, putting Florence in the middle of the pack of the 25 cheapest U.Southward. cities to alive in.
thirteen. Jackson, Tennessee
- Cost of living: 15.5% below U.S. average
- Metro population: 178,644
- Median household income: $48,700
- Median home value: $121,400
- Unemployment charge per unit: four.4%
Jackson, Tennessee, and surrounding Madison Canton are located ninety miles northeast of Memphis, which, as we've already seen, is also among the cheapest cities in the U.S.
Jackson serves as a regional centre of trade for Westward Tennessee. Some of the surface area's largest employers include Kellogg (One thousand), Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) and Masco'southward (MAS) Delta Faucet Visitor.
The city doesn't lack for leisure activities either. The Ned R. McWherter Due west Tennessee Cultural Arts Center, the Due west Tennessee Healthcare Sportsplex and the International Rock-A-Baton Hall of Fame Museum are but three of the city's primary attractions.
And it all comes in an affordable parcel. The overall cost of living is 15.5% lower than the national average, led by specially low healthcare and housing expenses.
12. Texarkana, Texas/Arkansas
- Toll of living: fifteen.7% below U.S. boilerplate
- Metro population: 149,308
- Median household income: $51,544
- Median home value: $117,200
- Unemployment rate: v.1%
The twin cities of Texarkana, Texas, and Texarkana, Arkansas, brand up some of the most affordable real estate in the U.South., especially when it comes to some of life'south biggest expenses.
Housing-related costs are about a 3rd below the U.S. average. For example, the boilerplate apartment rents for $943 a calendar month in this border city. Nationally, the average rent comes to $1,215. Grocery items, utilities, healthcare and transportation are all significantly cheaper, also.
A trip to the doctor in Texarkana costs an boilerplate of $100.50, according to the Price of Living Index. Nationally, a medico's visit runs $117.19. And a dozen eggs volition go for $1.31 in Texarkana vs. a national average of $1.62.
xi. Augusta-Aiken, Georgia/S Carolina
- Toll of living: 16% below U.S. average
- Metro population: 610,648
- Median household income: $55,143
- Median domicile value: $161,800
- Unemployment charge per unit: 3.5%
While most sports enthusiasts acquaintance Augusta with the storied Masters tournament, in that location'due south much more to this city than golf. The metro area, which includes Aiken, South Carolina, is a major eye for cybersecurity companies cheers to the presence of the U.S. Ground forces Cyber Command at nearby Fort Gordon.
Augusta is likewise a regional hub for medicine and biotechnology, supported by Augusta Academy – the state's only public health sciences graduate university – and the centrolineal Medical District of Augusta.
Happily for locals, the area remains among the country'due south cheapest cities to live in despite the presence of and then many well-paid occupations. Augusta-Aiken's toll of living runs 16% below the U.Due south. average, helped past housing costs that are almost thirty% less expensive than what the typical American pays. Folks pay almost 15% less than the national average for utilities and transportation, and get near a x% break on grocery items.
As much as the Masters dominates outsiders' imagination about this metropolis a 2-hour drive from downtown Atlanta, it has much more going on than golf game. Phinizy Swamp Nature Park, minutes from downtown Augusta, offers 14 miles of hiking trails. Aiken is abode to the Academy of South Carolina Aiken and the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum.
10. Hattiesburg, Mississippi
- Cost of living: 16.3% below U.S. average
- Metro population: 168,469
- Median household income: $48,359
- Median dwelling house value: $145,300
- Unemployment charge per unit: 5.4%
The Hattiesburg metro area might be on the smaller side population-wise and it might be inexpensive, simply it sure has a lot going on. Information technology's habitation to both the University of Southern Mississippi – Southern Miss to locals – and William Carey University, a Baptist liberal arts higher. Camp Shelby, the largest National Guard training base east of the Mississippi River, is nearby. Hattiesburg is too home to the African American War machine History Museum, as well as numerous other museums, galleries and theaters.
Experience the need to go out of town? It's a 90-minute drive from Hattiesburg to the beaches and casinos along Mississippi'southward Gulf Coast.
At the same time, Hattiesburg, just 115 miles to the north of New Orleans, is one of the cheapest U.S. cities to live in. Whether you rent or ain, housing expenses are 36% lower than the national average. Utilities, transportation costs and healthcare are also bargains.
ix. Knoxville, Tennessee
- Toll of living: 16.4% below U.S. average
- Metro population: 869,525
- Median household income: $56,623
- Median habitation value: $186,900
- Unemployment rate: 3.5%
Thrifty types should volunteer to check out Knoxville and its greater metro area, 1 of three Tennessee cities to brand the list for inexpensive living. The city is notable for its all-embracing affordability for everything from food to transportation, according to the Cost of Living Index.
Consider Knoxville, the original state uppercase before Nashville, a good mix of metropolis and country living. Information technology is abode to the University of Tennessee and the Women'due south Basketball Hall of Fame, but Knoxville is also the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains. The Tennessee River runs through downtown.
The city was a strategic objective in the Civil War, so history buffs can visit a number of battlefields nearby, too.
8. Kokomo, Indiana
- Cost of living: 16.ix% beneath U.Southward. average
- Metro population: 82,544
- Median household income: $53,440
- Median dwelling value: $109,800
- Unemployment rate: 6.8%
As a longtime manufacturing hub for the global automotive industry, it follows that Kokomo'southward major employers include the Chrysler segmentation of Stellantis (STLA), Full general Motors (GM), Aptiv (APTV) and Haynes International (HAYN).
I downside of Kokomo's dependence on the auto sector is a insufficiently high unemployment charge per unit, which peaked at 31% during the 2020 pandemic-caused recession. Fortunately, depression living costs help cushion the blow of downturns. Indeed, the metro area'southward poverty rate of 11.nine% is no higher than the country level and is less than the U.Southward. charge per unit.
Area residents spend virtually a 3rd less on overall housing costs. The average dwelling house cost of $284,691 is 28% cheaper than the U.S. average of $395,284, per C2ER. Folks relieve significant dollars on transportation and grocery items, as well, but healthcare costs the same equally what the typical American pays.
If you're just passing through, the Onetime Silk Stocking Neighborhood, the Seiberling Mansion and the Elwood Haynes Museum are just a few architectural and historical gems that are non to exist missed.
vii. Joplin, Missouri
- Cost of living: 17.3% beneath U.S. average
- Metro population: 179,564
- Median household income: $48,909
- Median domicile value: $127,800
- Unemployment charge per unit: 3.0%
It used to be that Joplin, at least to outsiders, was probably best known as a place where Depression-era bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde hid out for a time. Today, sadly, Joplin is perchance better known for tornados, such as the deadly tempest that destroyed nearly 30% of the city in 2011.
The city and greater metro area has since recovered from the costliest single tornado in modern U.S. history, helped by its status as a regional medical center. Its two major hospitals serve a 4-state area that includes Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Housing-related costs are about 35% below the national average, and a large reason why Joplin's among the 10 cheapest U.S. cities. Groceries, healthcare and transportation costs are comparatively depression, as well.
Utilities, all the same, run slightly above the U.S. average. Prescription drugs, pizza and phone bills are a bit more than expensive too.
half-dozen. Anniston, Alabama
- Cost of living: 17.seven% below U.South. boilerplate
- Metro population: 113,605
- Median household income: $48,156
- Median home value: $121,600
- Unemployment rate: 4.1%
Well-nigh an hour's drive east from Birmingham sits the Anniston metro surface area. The city's proximity to the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge makes it a good jumping off betoken for hikers, mount bikers and other outdoorsy types. The city besides has its quirks. Information technology's dwelling house to the world's largest part chair – a 33-foot-alpine seat that was one time recognized by Guinness World Records.
Anniston's low toll of living puts it amongst the 10 cheapest U.Due south. cities to live in, but it comes alongside a low median income that's roughly 27% below the national boilerplate. That said, household incomes and home values are higher in other parts of Calhoun County, of which Anniston is the county seat.
Either way, overall housing costs in the Anniston surface area are more than than 40% lower than what the average American pays. Utilities, however, are relatively pricey, running 24% above the national average.
Although the income pic could be brighter, Anniston has its charms, including Victorian homes and celebrated churches among other architectural gems.
5. Amarillo, Texas
- Cost of living: 18.3% below U.South. boilerplate
- Metro population: 269,447
- Median household income: $53,510
- Median domicile value: $156,300
- Unemployment charge per unit: three.six%
Amarilloans are known for their love of high-schoolhouse football, hot sauce and thick steaks. They also enjoy savings on a wide range of goods and services. Demand to get your eyes checked? An appointment with an optometrist is 35% less expensive in the urban center known as "The Yellow Rose of Texas." Dry out cleaning bills are 28% cheaper. And you'll save about xv% getting your washer repaired after information technology inevitably breaks downwards.
But the biggest manner folks in this part of the Texas Panhandle relieve money is past what they shell out for housing. Metro-expanse residents spend near 39% less on housing-related costs vs. the national boilerplate.
It'due south also encouraging that Amarillo'southward economy has bounced dorsum comparatively well since the short-but-sharp recession of 2020. For example, the metro expanse's unemployment rate of 3.half dozen% stands well beneath the national rate of 4.viii%.
4. Jackson, Mississippi
- Cost of living: 20.9% below U.S. average
- Metro population: 594,800
- Median household income: $52,426
- Median habitation value: $153,800
- Unemployment rate: 5.iv%
Metro Jackson is a surprisingly eclectic urban center that holds appeal for Ceremonious State of war buffs, blues music aficionados and even ballet fans. Every 4 years, dancers from effectually the globe flock to Jackson for the two-week USA International Ballet Competition to compete for medals, scholarships and spots in ballet companies. Similar competitions are held only in Russia, Bulgaria and Republic of finland.
The state upper-case letter also happens to be a great identify for retirees. The Milken Institute ranks Jackson eighth amid the all-time big cities for successful aging due to its affordability and an abundance of nurses, nurse practitioners and orthopedic surgeons, besides equally caregiving options and geriatric facilities.
Overall living costs are almost 21% below the national average, led by housing, which is close to xl% cheaper. Transportation expenses are also a big deal. Healthcare costs, notwithstanding, are about in line with the U.S. boilerplate.
iii. McAllen, Texas
- Toll of living: 22.3% below U.Southward. average
- Metro population: 868,707
- Median household income: $41,800
- Median dwelling value: $93,400
- Unemployment rate: 8.9%
Southward Texas border towns are known for depression costs of living, merely non always for happy reasons.
McAllen, which is about 30 miles west of Harlingen on the Rio Grande, may exist one of the cheapest cities in the U.S., simply it comes at a price. The poverty rate in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area is 27.3%. That'south about double the Texas rate of xiii.half-dozen% and more than than twice the U.S. rate of 12.3%. The unemployment charge per unit also remains stubbornly high compared with state and national levels.
On the plus side, McAllen is famous for bird watching because of its location on a major migration road. The Quinta Mazatlan, a luxury birdhouse with more than xv acres of birding habitat, is not to be missed. The city too features the International Museum of Art & Science, which has a specific focus on Latin American art.
And McAllen is indeed one of the cheapest U.S. cities to live in. Housing costs are near 42% lower than the national average, healthcare expenses are 29% cheaper and grocery items are 15% less than what the typical American pays. One of the few things residents pay a petty extra for is utilities, which isn't surprising given that temperatures routinely soar into the loftier 90s during the summer months.
2. Harlingen, Texas
- Cost of living: 22.7% below U.Southward. average
- Metro population: 423,163
- Median household income: $41,123
- Median home value: $89,000
- Unemployment rate: 7.9%
Harlingen sits on the southernmost tip of Texas, with the Rio Grande to the south and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. The Brownsville-Harlingen metro surface area is a hardscrabble identify where 25.6% of residents alive beneath the poverty line. That's most twice the poverty rate for Texas as a whole. Comparatively low median household income and high unemployment are other grim aspects of the metro expanse's economy.
Nonetheless, but well-nigh everything, from groceries to gasoline, costs less in Harlingen. Locals save about thirteen% on a good cut of steak or ground beef compared to the national average (this is Texas, afterward all). The median home value in Harlingen is a striking $151,100 less than the U.South. median. The average apartment rents for $702 per calendar month – or 42% lower than the national average of $one,215.
However, as with not-too-afar neighbor McAllen, utility bills run a bit loftier, or 10.2% above the national boilerplate.
In add-on to its proximity to Mexico, Harlingen is well-nigh an hour'due south drive to the beaches of South Padre Island.
1. Kalamazoo, Michigan
- Cost of living: 22.ix% below U.S. average
- Metro population: 265,066
- Median household income: $56,441
- Median habitation value: $171,800
- Unemployment rate: 4.6%
Kalamazoo is the cheapest city in the U.Southward. Sadly, that'south very much a necessity for also many of its residents.
In the city of Kalamazoo proper (pop. 76,201), more than than 26% of residents live below the poverty line. (At the metro level, which includes Portage, Michigan, the figure comes to xiii.four%.) The U.S. and Michigan country poverty rates are 12.3% and 13%, respectively.
Western Michigan Academy, with its multiple campuses and research facilities, is a major driver of the local economy. Pfizer (PFE), the drug company, has a sizable operation in Kalamazoo, and medical equipment maker Stryker (SYK) is headquartered in the urban center.
Every bit for recreational activities, the Kalamazoo Nature Eye hosts costless daily activities. Nearby parks offering a combined 140 miles of trails and three swimming beaches. If you desire to go away to the big metropolis, Chicago is less than iii hours past auto if traffic is merciful.
Source: https://www.kiplinger.com/real-estate/places-to-live/601488/25-cheapest-us-cities-to-live-in
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