35 Surprising Cities With Low Costs of Living

No matter what your income level, most Americans have felt the impact of recent high inflation on the costs of goods and services you regularly buy. However, if you’re struggling to make ends meet, where you live can also play a part. It can be tough to stretch even a big paycheck far enough to pay for necessities and have money left over for savings — and a little fun — if you’re in a place where the cost of living is high. So, it might be time to move to a place that’s more affordable.

In order to help you pinpoint the cheapest places to live, GOBankingRates compared living expenses in 150 of the largest U.S. cities to find the top 35 cities to find out where you can live comfortably. The 50/30/20 budgeting rule was used as a guideline, in which 50% of income covers necessities, 30% covers discretionary items and 20% is for savings. For necessities, the cost of rent, groceries, utilities, transportation and healthcare were used. Then, GOBankingRates doubled the cost of necessities to get the total income needed.

Keep reading to see how much money you need to live comfortably in these U.S. cities.

• Total annual cost of living: $29,154.56
• Annual income needed: $58,309.13

• Total annual cost of living: $29,110.77
• Annual income needed: $58,221.54

• Total annual cost of living: $28,873.02
• Annual income needed: $57,746.05

• Total annual cost of living: $28,866.75
• Annual income needed: $57,733.49

• Total annual cost of living: $28,558.75
• Annual income needed: $57,117.50

• Total annual cost of living: $27,983.98
• Annual income needed: $55,967.97

• Total annual cost of living: $27,801.17
• Annual income needed: $55,602.34

• Total annual cost of living: $27,671.95
• Annual income needed: $55,343.90

• Total annual cost of living: $27,426.58
• Annual income needed: $54,853.16

• Total annual cost of living: $27,272.03
• Annual income needed: $54,544.06

• Total annual cost of living: $27,228.76
• Annual income needed: $54,457.51

• Total annual cost of living: $27,228.76
• Annual income needed: $54,457.51

• Total annual cost of living: $26,913.65
• Annual income needed: $53,827.30

• Total annual cost of living: $26,896.00
• Annual income needed: $53,791.99

• Total annual cost of living: $26,850.45
• Annual income needed: $53,700.90

• Total annual cost of living: $26,810.56
• Annual income needed: $53,621.12

• Total annual cost of living: $26,782.30
• Annual income needed: $53,564.59

• Total annual cost of living: $26,603.23
• Annual income needed: $53,206.46

• Total annual cost of living: $26,579.74
• Annual income needed: $53,159.48

• Total annual cost of living: $26,438.91
• Annual income needed: $52,877.82

• Total annual cost of living: $26,388.64
• Annual income needed: $52,777.27

• Total annual cost of living: $26,322.87
• Annual income needed: $52,645.75

• Total annual cost of living: $26,203.00
• Annual income needed: $52,406.00

• Total annual cost of living: $26,174.91
• Annual income needed: $52,349.83

• Total annual cost of living: $25,861.85
• Annual income needed: $51,723.71

• Total annual cost of living: $25,694.05
• Annual income needed: $51,388.10

• Total annual cost of living: $25,372.99
• Annual income needed: $50,745.98

• Total annual cost of living: $25,241.81
• Annual income needed: $50,483.63

• Total annual cost of living: $25,117.72
• Annual income needed: $50,235.43

• Total annual cost of living: $24,678.68
• Annual income needed: $49,357.37

• Total annual cost of living: $24,439.12
• Annual income needed: $48,878.25

• Total annual cost of living: $24,373.68
• Annual income needed: $48,747.35

• Total annual cost of living: $22,308.57
• Annual income needed: $44,617.14

• Total annual cost of living: $21,710.15
• Annual income needed: $43,420.29

• Total annual cost of living: $21,631.90
• Annual income needed: $43,263.79

Cameron Huddleston, Grace Lin and Sydney Champion contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology: To find 35 cities with low costs of living, GoBankingRates analyzed the 150 largest cities in the United States by population, according to the Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey. First, GOBankingRates referenced the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2021 Consumer Expenditure Survey data  to find the amount that a typical consumer unit spends annually on necessities across the following five categories: housing, groceries, utilities, healthcare, and transportation. Then, GOBankingRates used Sperling’s Best Places’ cost of living indices to adjust spending estimates in each category to reflect prices in each city. Finally, GOBankingRates doubled the estimated total annual cost of necessities in each city to create an estimated minimum income needed to live comfortably, using the 50/30/20 budgeting rule (which allocates 50% of income to necessities, 30% to discretionary spending, and 20% to savings) as a guideline. Cities were then ranked on the estimated minimum income needed to live comfortably, with no. 1 being the city with the overall lowest cost of living. All data was collected on and up to date as of Nov. 30, 2022.