15 Best Small Cities To Live In — How Affordable Are They?

One strategy many Americans make when struggling to pay for high cost-of-living expenses is moving to a cheaper area. Often, they will swap out a major metro in favor of a small city where there’s more affordable housing and lower monthly expenditures.

If you’re looking for an affordable small city to relocate to, there’s good news. WalletHub recently shared a study outlining the best small U.S. cities to live in. Their top 15 cities are below. GOBankingRates also included each city’s average home value as sourced by the Zillow Home Values Index and median rent via Zumper to further determine each city’s housing affordability. 

See how affordable it is to live in these 15 small cities.

Also see other affordable small towns with great quality of life.

• Affordability rank: 84
• Education and health rank: 58
• Quality of life rank: 411
• Safety rank: 127

• Average home value: $670,403
• Median rent: $2,800

• Affordability rank: 78
• Education and health rank: 64
• Quality of life rank: 595
• Safety rank: 11

• Average home value: $365,705
• Median rent: $1,708

• Affordability rank: 160
• Education and health rank: 28
• Quality of life rank: 154
• Safety rank: 55

• Average home value: $810,469
• Median rent: $2,200

• Affordability rank: 101
• Education and health rank: 34
• Quality of life rank: 950
• Safety rank: 21

• Average home value: $653,179
• Median rent: $3,800

• Affordability rank: 178
• Education and health rank: 20
• Quality of life rank: 758
• Safety rank: 47

• Average home value: $1,023,705
• Median rent: $3,270

• Affordability rank: 20
• Education and health rank: 59
• Quality of life rank: 1001
• Safety rank: 6

• Average home value: $443,286
• Median rent: $1,870

• Affordability rank: 1139
• Education and health rank: 92
• Quality of life rank: 39
• Safety rank: 231

• Average home value: $739,836
• Median rent: $2,250

• Affordability rank: 818
• Education and health rank: 657
• Quality of life rank: 10
• Safety rank: 56

• Average home value: $352,095
• Median rent: $1,679

• Affordability rank: 98
• Education and health rank: 129
• Quality of life rank: 385
• Safety rank: 60

• Average home value: $1,262,903
• Median rent: $2,462

• Affordability rank: 30
• Education and health rank: 296
• Quality of life rank: 542
• Safety rank: 222

• Average home value: $611,264
• Median rent: $1,995

• Affordability rank: 172
• Education and health rank: 172
• Quality of life rank: 64
• Safety rank: 149

• Average home value: $272,140
• Median rent: $1,199

• Affordability rank: 19
• Education and health rank: 43
• Quality of life rank: 616
• Safety rank: 5

• Average home value: $419,856
• Median rent: $1,860

• Affordability rank: 518
• Education and health rank: 1
• Quality of life rank: 118
• Safety rank: 12

• Average home value: $1,510,336
• Median rent: $3,965

• Affordability rank: 76
• Education and health rank: 33
• Quality of life rank: 292
• Safety rank: 49

• Average home value: $475,810
• Median rent: $1,771

• Affordability rank: 26
• Education and health rank: 44
• Quality of life rank: 280
• Safety rank: 4

• Average home value: $526,878
• Median rent: $1,793

Editor’s note: Photos are for representational purposes only and might not reflect the exact locations listed in this article.