Most Beautiful Places in America To Live on $3,000 a Month

While $3,000 may not seem like a lot to live on every month — especially with inflation, housing prices and grocery costs rising — you might be surprised to find that you can live quite comfortably in cities and towns nationwide.

Whether you prefer the hustle and bustle of a bigger city or the more idyllic pace of a smaller town, there’s a place for you. As GOBankingRates investigated some of the best places to live on only $3,000 a month, we looked to outlets like TourScanner, ArchitecturalDigest, CNTraveler, Forbes, and IBTimes to find some of the most beautiful areas in the country. 

From there, we dug into the cost-of-living expenditures, rent prices and home ownership costs to give a comprehensive breakdown of places that are gorgeous to look at, fun to visit, and inexpensive to make a life in.

Let’s take a look at some of the best spots around for 3k per month:

• Rent Average Cost:  $966.67
• Mortgage Average Cost:  $339.98
• Expenditure Average Cost:  $1,749.17 
• Monthly Total Cost of Living For Renter:  $2,715.84
• Monthly Total Cost of Living for Homeowner:  $2,089.15 

Known as the beating heart of the American steel industry, Youngstown also offers cultural activities, from perusing the Butler Institute of American Art to strolling through the gorgeous Fellows Rivers Gardens. 

• Rent Average Cost:  $1,168.08
• Mortgage Average Cost:  $730.73
• Expenditure Average Cost:  $2,134.82 
• Monthly Total Cost of Living For Renter:  $3,302.91
• Monthly Total Cost of Living for Homeowner:  $2,865.56 

Peoria has long been celebrated as one of the coolest places in the midwest – with Trip Advisor pointing out that entertainers famously assessed the overall success of an act by how well it’ll play in Peoria. Known for its bar scene and nightlife, Peoria is famous for its Forest Park Nature Center and the Peoria Riverfront Museum. 

• Rent Average Cost:  $989.67
• Mortgage Average Cost:  $1,489.26
• Expenditure Average Cost:  $1,980.53 
• Monthly Total Cost of Living For Renter:  $2,970.20
• Monthly Total Cost of Living for Homeowner:  $3,469.79 

If you’re a football fan who wants to live in a town that is utterly devoted to their team, Green Bay might be the right place for you. Even beyond its love of all things Cheesehead, as the state’s oldest settlement, Green Bay is also rich with history that any museum aficionado would enjoy.  

• Rent Average Cost:  $1,334.88
• Mortgage Average Cost:  $1,068.00
• Expenditure Average Cost:  $1,771.24 
• Monthly Total Cost of Living For Renter:  $3,106.12
• Monthly Total Cost of Living for Homeowner:  $2,839.24 

While South Bend is perhaps best known for its close proximity to the University of Notre Dame, there’s a whole lot to love about the city even beyond its ties to the Fightin’ Irish. Car buffs will love spending the day at the Studebaker National Museum while adrenaline junkies can enjoy the rush of exploring the East Race Waterway. 

• Rent Average Cost:  $1,087.27
• Mortgage Average Cost:  $707.99
• Expenditure Average Cost:  $1,842.55 
• Monthly Total Cost of Living For Renter:  $2,929.83
• Monthly Total Cost of Living for Homeowner:  $2,550.55 

Food lovers flock to Toledo for the city’s famed chicken dishes, biscuits and gravy, and pies, but you can fill up even more than your belly if you make a new home here. The Toledo Museum of Art is renowned for its collection of Renaissance and modern art. If you have children or grandchildren, you might find yourself spending hours at the world-known Toledo Zoo. 

• Rent Average Cost:  $1,178.05
• Mortgage Average Cost:  $872.23
• Expenditure Average Cost:  $1,912.51 
• Monthly Total Cost of Living For Renter:  $3,090.55
• Monthly Total Cost of Living for Homeowner:  $2,784.74 

If you are obsessed with all things aviation, you’ll be delighted by what you can find in Dayton, Ohio. The city houses the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, as well as the Carillon Historical Park, which features artifacts from the Wright Brothers.

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates searched cities across the United States to find the most beautiful cities to live in for under $3,000. First GOBankingRates found the most beautiful cities across the country as sourced from TourScanner, ArchitecturalDigest, CNTraveler, Forbes, and IBTimes travel blogs for the most beautiful cities in America. For each city the cost of living expenditures were calculated by using the cost of living indexes as sourced from Sperlings BestPlaces and multiplied by the national average expenditure costs for all residents as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey for all Residents. The average rental cost was sourced from Zillow Observed Rental Index and the average mortgage was found by using the average home value as sourced from Zillow Home Value Index and the 30 year national average mortgage rate as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data. Combining the average expenditures with the average rent gives the total cost of living for renters and combining the average expenditures with the average mortgage gives the total cost of living for homeowners. All locations with a total cost of living above $3000 were removed for this study. The livability index was found for each remaining city. The cities were sorted by the highest to lowest livability index. All data was collected on and is up-to-date as-of May 1st, 2024.