20 States With the Lowest Cost of Living for Single Adults

If you’re a single adult, you’ve probably wondered if moving to another state would mean your overall monthly expenses would be a lot less. While this isn’t the case in every state, there are plenty that have a lower cost of living and subsequently lower basic monthly expenses.

To get to the bottom of this issue, GOBankingRates analyzed each U.S. state to find the average cost of living for a single adult. Ranked from highest to lowest overall cost of living, here are the 20 states where single adults have the lowest monthly expenses.

• Groceries: $327.84 
• Healthcare: $338.12 
• Utilities: $269.45 
• Transportation: $691.39
• Average mortgage: $1,828.63  
• Miscellaneous: $66.33 

Overall cost-of-living index: 94

• Groceries: $325.46  
• Healthcare: $319.73   
• Utilities: $300.99  
• Transportation: $670.22   
• Average mortgage: $1,851.77   
• Miscellaneous: $65.31  

Overall cost-of-living index: 92.7

• Groceries: $347.91   
• Healthcare: $340.84   
• Utilities: $253.53  
• Transportation: $689.20 
• Average mortgage: $2,076.56 
• Miscellaneous: $66.40  

Overall cost-of-living index: 92.4

• Groceries: $329.88    
• Healthcare: $333.35  
• Utilities: $253.24 
• Transportation: $711.10 
• Average mortgage: $1,821.54 
• Miscellaneous: $63.48   

Overall cost-of-living index: 92.4

• Groceries: $333.28   
• Healthcare: $323.48 
• Utilities: $256.42 
• Transportation: $751.99 
• Average mortgage: $1,569.84 
• Miscellaneous: $65.58   

Overall cost-of-living index: 92.1

• Groceries: $344.50 
• Healthcare: $285.00 
• Utilities: $302.15 
• Transportation: $671.68 
• Average mortgage: $1,226.28 
• Miscellaneous: $68.63 

Overall cost-of-living index: 92

• Groceries: $334.98  
• Healthcare: $328.24 
• Utilities: $308.81 
• Transportation: $696.50 
• Average mortgage: $1,443.47 
• Miscellaneous: $63.96    

Overall cost-of-living index: 9.1

• Groceries: $323.08 
• Healthcare: $336.07 
• Utilities: $243.11 
• Transportation: $699.42 
• Average mortgage: $1,212.63 
• Miscellaneous: $65.38   

Overall cost-of-living index: 91

• Groceries: $325.80 
• Healthcare: $333.35 
• Utilities: $248.03 
• Transportation: $730.08 
• Average mortgage: $1,566.36 
• Miscellaneous: $65.31 

Overall cost-of-living index: 90.9

• Groceries: $333.62 
• Healthcare: $341.52 
• Utilities: $247.45 
• Transportation: $682.63 
• Average mortgage: $1,992.76 
• Miscellaneous: $65.92 

Overall cost-of-living index: 90.8

• Groceries: $336.00  
• Healthcare: $317.69 
• Utilities: $292.60 
• Transportation: $705.99  
• Average mortgage: $1,460.40 
• Miscellaneous: $63.08 

Overall cost-of-living index: 90.6

• Groceries: $328.52 
• Healthcare: $338.46 
• Utilities: $276.39 
• Transportation: $719.86 
• Average mortgage: $1,304.35 
• Miscellaneous: $64.97 

Overall cost-of-living index: 90.3

• Groceries: $332.26 
• Healthcare: $299.98 
• Utilities: $268.00 
• Transportation: $647.58 
• Average mortgage: $1,933.73 
• Miscellaneous: $63.62 

Overall cost-of-living index: 90.3

• Groceries: $324.10 
• Healthcare: $297.94  
• Utilities: $265.11 
• Transportation: $654.15 
• Average mortgage: $1,238.30 
• Miscellaneous: $66.19 

Overall cost-of-living index: 89

• Groceries: $324.10 
• Healthcare: $306.11  
• Utilities: $285.36 
• Transportation: $663.65 
• Average mortgage: $1,481.39 
• Miscellaneous: $61.99 

Overall cost-of-living index: 88.5

• Groceries: $326.82 
• Healthcare: $296.24 
• Utilities: $296.36 
• Transportation: $662.92 
• Average mortgage: $1,376.80 
• Miscellaneous: $64.90 

Overall cost-of-living index: 88.3

• Groceries: $334.64  
• Healthcare: $328.92 
• Utilities: $276.97 
• Transportation: $686.28 
• Average mortgage: $981.01  
• Miscellaneous: $64.36 

Overall cost-of-living index: 87.7

• Groceries: $330.56 
• Healthcare: $329.94 
• Utilities: $308.52 
• Transportation: $657.81 
• Average mortgage: $1,363.63  
• Miscellaneous: $62.19 

Overall cost-of-living index: 87.1

• Groceries: $330.56 
• Healthcare: $335.05  
• Utilities: $248.90 
• Transportation: $640.28  
• Average mortgage: $1,087.15   
• Miscellaneous: $62.19 

Overall cost-of-living index: 86.3

• Groceries: $321.04 
• Healthcare: $315.30  
• Utilities: $284.21 
• Transportation: $676.06  
• Average mortgage: $1,239.21  
• Miscellaneous: $61.86 

Overall cost-of-living index: 86.2

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed each US state to find the average cost of living for a single adult. Using the cost of living indexes for each state, sourced from the Missouri Economic and Research Information Center, and the average expenditure costs for single residents, sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey, to find the average expenditure costs for each state. The average mortgage cost was calculated by using the average home value as sourced from Zillow Home Value Index, assuming a 10% down payment, and using the 30 year national average fixed mortgage rate. Adding the average mortgage to the average expenditure cost gives the total monthly cost of living for each state. The states were sorted to show the cheapest to the most expensive. All data was collected on and is up-to-date as-of Apr. 30, 2024.