Got a monthly budget of $2,600? Good news: Michigan is home to 10 cities where the cost of living expenses can comfortably fit into that budget.
To determine which cities in Michigan are the cheapest, GOBankingRates analyzed a number of factors across various locations. These include each city’s population, total households, median household income, average single family home value, cost of living indexes, average mortgage and livability index. The total monthly cost of living was found by combining the average mortgage cost and monthly expenditure cost.
Ranked in descending order, see which 10 Michigan cities are among the cheapest to live in.
10. St. Louis
- Total households: 1,267
- Total population: 6,932
- Median household income: $47,662
- Livability: 69
- Average home value (January 2024): $133,483
- Average mortgage cost: $785
- Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,806
- Monthly total cost of living: $2,591
9. Albion
- Total households: 2,316
- Total population: 7,732
- Median household income: $41,594
- Livability: 69
- Average home value (January 2024): $115,295
- Average mortgage cost: $678
- Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,888
- Monthly total cost of living: $2,566
8. Alma
- Total households: 3,541
- Total population: 9,436
- Median household income: $44,375
- Livability: 70
- Average home value (January 2024): $133,310
- Average mortgage cost: $784
- Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,747
- Monthly total cost of living: $2,531
7. Saginaw
- Total households: 17,520
- Total population: 44,316
- Median household income: $35,521
- Livability: 62
- Average home value (January 2024): $110,006
- Average mortgage cost: $647
- Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,883
- Monthly total cost of living: $2,530
6. River Rouge
- Total households: 2,900
- Total population: 7,200
- Median household income: $26,343
- Livability: 65
- Average home value (January 2024): $64,385
- Average mortgage cost: $379
- Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,140
- Monthly total cost of living: $2,519
5. Ecorse
- Total households: 3,438
- Total population: 9,292
- Median household income: $45,473
- Livability: 65
- Average home value (January 2024): $69,491
- Average mortgage cost: $409
- Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,095
- Monthly total cost of living: $2,503
4. Detroit
- Total households: 249,518
- Total population: 636,787
- Median household income: $37,761
- Livability: 73
- Average home value (January 2024): $67,388
- Average mortgage cost: $396
- Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,900
- Monthly total cost of living: $2,296
3. Muskegon Heights
- Total households: 3,611
- Total population: 9,954
- Median household income: $35,216
- Livability: 58
- Average home value (January 2024): $66,231
- Average mortgage cost: $389
- Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,821
- Monthly total cost of living: $2,211
2. Flint
- Total households: 33,854
- Total population: 81,863
- Median household income: $35,451
- Livability: 74
- Average home value (January 2024): $53,047
- Average mortgage cost: $312
- Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,845
- Monthly total cost of living: $2,157
1. Beecher
- Total households: 3,695
- Total population: 9,085
- Median household income: $35,618
- Livability: 60
- Average home value (January 2024): $35,687
- Average mortgage cost: $210
- Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,895
- Monthly total cost of living: $2,105
Photo disclaimer: Photos are for illustrative purposes only. In many cases, the closest major city outside of the city/county mentioned in the article was used.
Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed cities across Michigan to find how much it costs in the cheapest cities in Michigan. For each city on the list a number of factors were found including; total population, total households, and median household income, all sourced from the US Census American Community Survey, average single family home value as sourced from the Zillow Home Value Index, the cost of living indexes as sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces, the average mortgage, calculated using the National 30-year Fixed Rate Average Mortgage as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data, and the livability index as sourced from AreaVibes. The average mortgage cost and the monthly expenditure costs were combined to find a total monthly cost of living. Any city with missing data was removed for this study. The cities were sorted using the monthly total cost of living from the cheapest to the most expensive to find how much the cost of living is in the cheapest cities in Michigan. The livability, populations, and median income were included as supplemental information. All data was collected and is up to date as of April 8th, 2024.