Top 10 cities with the lowest cost of living — here’s where you get the most for every dollar

Americans are emotion nan financial pinch connected each sides: Whether it’s nan precocious costs of housing, location insurance, utilities, gasoline, aliases moreover groceries, it seems location is obscurity to hide from skyrocketing prices.

Or is there? Research shows that nan costs of surviving varies wide from state to state, and moreover metropolis to city. So, what are nan cities wherever you tin person your paycheck stretched nan furthest?

To find which cities person nan highest and lowest costs of living, nan economical investigation squad at Realtor.com® examined nan latest location value parities (RPPs) information by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Topping nan database is McAllen, TX.

With an RPP of 86.92%, what would costs you $100 nationally would costs only $86.92 successful McAllen. Put different way, nan costs of surviving location is 13% little than nan average.

“The metros pinch nan lowest costs of surviving are mostly concentrated successful nan South and nan Midwest,” says Realtor.com elder economical investigation analyst Hannah Jones. “These areas thin to beryllium smaller, pinch only Birmingham, AL, representing nan 50 largest U.S. metros, arsenic nan 50th largest.”

And it isn’t conscionable that you tin bring location a larger container of groceries successful these areas than elsewhere. You tin put down roots successful these cities little expensively, too.

“Home prices successful these areas were $100,000 aliases much beneath nan nationalist median successful September,” says Jones.

John Macke, elder investigation expert at John Burns Research and Consulting, says that affordable lodging plays a ample portion successful nan costs of surviving data.

“Looking astatine nan BEA’s location value parity information specifically, it’s nan lodging constituent that is overmuch little successful these metros comparative to others, making it nan superior facet driving nan little costs of living,” says Macke.

So if you’re reasoning astir relocating to an area wherever you’ll get much bang for your buck, publication on.

McAllen, TX

Low lodging costs are nan superior driver down McAllen’s desirable debased costs of living.

“Nationally, nan location price-to-income ratio is astir 5.5 arsenic of August 2024, meaning location prices are 5.5 times nan median family income,” says Macke. “In a metropolis for illustration McAllen, TX (4.8), location prices are overmuch little comparative to incomes, driving down nan wide costs of living.”

“McAllen’s location adjacent to nan Mexico separator has fueled a trade-based system and manufacturing jobs,” says existent property agent Cara Ameer. “There is nary income taxation successful Texas, and spot taxes are little successful McAllen. There is plentifulness of onshore connected which to develop, which helps support prices much affordable. In addition, McAllen has a little costs of living, truthful that coupled pinch occupation opportunities helps create a much affordable environment.”

What residents salary for $100 of necessities: $86.92
Median location price: $275,000

Wichita, KS

The birthplace of Pizza Hut, White Castle, and Koch Industries, Wichita is nary alien to entrepreneurship, and pinch its debased costs of living, it could beryllium nan cleanable spot to commencement your business.

What residents salary for $100 of necessities: $89.16
Median location price: $292,700

Little Rock, AR

Perhaps champion known arsenic where Bill and Hillary Clinton rose to early prominence successful politics, Little Rock is nary longer considered a spot for conscionable nan agrarian types.

“Arkansas has go rather celebrated pinch Californians, who tin return advantage of affordability, a milder climate, and an abundance of recreational opportunities specified arsenic Lake of nan Ozarks,” says Ameer.

What residents salary for $100 of necessities: $89.15
Median location price: $291,000

Toledo, OH

Toledo, known arsenic nan “Glass Capital of nan World,” precocious classed 2nd successful nan Realtor.com database of the Most Affordable U.S. Metros.

“Transportation [in Toledo] is easy and inexpensive. Mass proscription is cheap,” says Jessica Lauren, a real property investor in Columbus, OH. “The aged and school-age organization person discounted rates for nationalist transport. Gas is cheap. Ohio doesn’t adhd specialized taxes to gasoline.”

What residents salary for $100 of necessities: $90.18
Median location price: $237,450

Scranton, PA

Being nan branch location of nan fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Co. connected nan celebrated TV bid “The Office” didn’t do Scranton immoderate favors. But its affordable costs of surviving does.

“The spot taxes, on pinch costs of existent estate, are overmuch little present than successful nan suburbs of Philadelphia,” adds Denise Supplee, laminitis of Spark Rental successful Doylestown, PA. “The occupation outlook presently is not awesome but getting better.”

What residents salary for $100 of necessities: $91.90
Median location price: $243,450

Dayton, OH

Mike Wall of eXp Realty/EZ Sell Homebuyers, who has sold and invested successful Dayton existent property for 23 years, says that nan debased costs of surviving present is owed to 5 factors: an affordable lodging market, a humble organization growth, a divers occupation marketplace that isn’t tech-heavy, little proscription and wellness costs, and little municipality density.

“While Dayton has a diversified system pinch industries for illustration aerospace, wellness care, and manufacturing, nan metropolis doesn’t acquisition nan accelerated occupation marketplace booms and busts that thrust precocious surviving costs successful different areas,” he says. “Wages are competitive, but nan absence of industries for illustration tech, which person skyrocketed surviving costs successful places for illustration Silicon Valley, helps Dayton support affordability.”

What residents salary for $100 of necessities: $91.39
Median location price: $250,000

Tulsa, OK

The taste superior of Oklahoma, Tulsa has 2 museums, 2 opera companies, and 2 ballet companies. It besides has 1 of nan country’s largest concentrations of creation deco buildings, and it moreover produced an “American Idol” winner: David Cook.

But each that civilization will tally you a batch little than surviving successful New York City.

What residents salary for $100 of necessities: $90.53
Median location price: $325,000

Akron, OH

Real property investor Lauren says of spot successful Akron: “There isn’t nan magnitude of high-end lodging aliases value improvement successful [Akron] compared to what you’ll find successful different geographic regions,” which keeps lodging prices low.

Also, Akron has a 15-year residential property taxation abatement program, which exempts 100% of nan added spot worth connected immoderate recently built location aliases renewal (valued astatine $5,000-plus).

Food prices are besides kept reasonable acknowledgment to Akron’s ample farming communities.

“The largest concatenation market successful Akron sources vegetables straight from section farmers, and nan prices are considerably little than prices successful different states, moreover successful farm-rich Indiana,” says Lauren. “There are besides galore workplace stands successful agrarian areas adjacent to these 3 cities. Milk, for example, is dirt-cheap compared to California prices.”

It besides has nan lowest median location value connected this list, keeping its costs of surviving rather attractive.

What residents salary for $100 of necessities: $92.05
Median location price: $230,000

Birmingham, AL

Birmingham mightiness person a debased costs of living, but it has high-quality wellness care: The metropolis is location to nan University of Alabama astatine Birmingham and has a well-known aesculapian halfway arsenic good arsenic a aesculapian school.

What residents salary for $100 of necessities: $91.15
Median location price: $300,000

El Paso, TX

Californians rushed to Texas during nan awesome COVID-19 pandemic migration, but El Paso escaped nan resultant uptick successful prices: It still has a debased costs of living, and lodging costs are reasonable.

But folks had amended hurry.

El Paso is No. 3 on nan database of places that could soon suffer affordability acknowledgment to owe complaint drops.

What residents salary for $100 of necessities: $91.21
Median location price: $298,125