35 Surprising Cities With Low Costs of Living

If you’re struggling to make ends meet, it might have something to do with where you live. 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.

See: The 50 Best Cities for Renters

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 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.

35. Baltimore

• Total annual cost of living: $26,502.54
• Annual income needed: $53,005.07

34. Huntsville, Alabama

• Total annual cost of living: $26,385.81
• Annual income needed: $52,771.62

33. Kansas City, Missouri

• Total annual cost of living: $26,168.67
• Annual income needed: $52,337.33

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32. Laredo, Texas

• Total annual cost of living: $26,041.71
• Annual income needed: $52,083.42

31. Chattanooga, Tennessee

• Total annual cost of living: $26,037.48
• Annual income needed: $52,074.97

30. Milwaukee

• Total annual cost of living: $25,977.35
• Annual income needed: $51,954.70

29. Greensboro, North Carolina

• Total annual cost of living: $25,927.14
• Annual income needed: $51,854.28

28. Corpus Christi, Texas

• Total annual cost of living: $25,800.21
• Annual income needed: $51,600.42

27. Cincinnati

• Total annual cost of living: $25,758.50
• Annual income needed: $51,517

26. Des Moines, Iowa

• Total annual cost of living: $25,635.13
• Annual income needed: $51,270.26

25. Tulsa, Oklahoma

• Total annual cost of living: $25,217.09
• Annual income needed: $50,434.18

24. Wichita, Kansas

• Total annual cost of living: $25,200.71
• Annual income needed: $50,401.42

23. Indianapolis

• Total annual cost of living: $25,112.34
• Annual income needed: $50,224.67

22. Winston-Salem, North Carolina

• Total annual cost of living: $25,034.16
• Annual income needed: $50,068.31

21. Mobile, Alabama

• Total annual cost of living: $24,981.49
• Annual income needed: $49,962.98

20. Little Rock, Arkansas

• Total annual cost of living: $24,958.48
• Annual income needed: $49,916.95

19. Detroit

• Total annual cost of living: $24,903.13
• Annual income needed: $49,806.26

18. Amarillo, Texas

• Total annual cost of living: $24,839.61
• Annual income needed: $49,679.21

17. Augusta-Richmond, Georgia

• Total annual cost of living: $24,778.75
• Annual income needed: $49,557.49

16. El Paso, Texas

• Total annual cost of living: $24,715.64
• Annual income needed: $49,431.28

15. Lubbock, Texas

• Total annual cost of living: $24,592.25
• Annual income needed: $49,184.51

See: The Most Expensive Countries To Live In

14. St. Louis

• Total annual cost of living: $24,495.14
• Annual income needed: $48,990.28

13. Fayetteville, North Carolina

• Total annual cost of living: $24,246.71
• Annual income needed: $48,493.43

12. Buffalo, New York

• Total annual cost of living: $24,163.60
• Annual income needed: $48,327.20

11. Fort Wayne, Indiana

• Total annual cost of living: $23,717.29
• Annual income needed: $47,434.58

See: Cheapest Places To Buy a Home in Every State

10. Memphis, Tennessee

• Total annual cost of living: $23,131.05
• Annual income needed: $46,262.09

9. Shreveport, Louisiana

• Total annual cost of living: $23,126.13
• Annual income needed: $46,252.26

8. Montgomery, Alabama

• Total annual cost of living: $22,936.20
• Annual income needed: $45,872.40

7. Columbus, Georgia

• Total annual cost of living: $22,594.26
• Annual income needed: $45,188.52

6. Rochester, New York

• Total annual cost of living: $22,577.04
• Annual income needed: $45,154.08

5. Birmingham, Alabama

• Total annual cost of living: $22,049.47
• Annual income needed: $44,098.95

4. Brownsville, Texas

• Total annual cost of living: $21,835.35
• Annual income needed: $43,670.70

3. Toledo, Ohio

• Total annual cost of living: $20,928.10
• Annual income needed: $41,856.20

2. Akron, Ohio

• Total annual cost of living: $20,381.18
• Annual income needed: $40,762.35

1. Cleveland

• Total annual cost of living: $20,323.36
• Annual income needed: $40,646.72

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Cameron Huddleston 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 2018 American Community Survey. First, GOBankingRates referenced the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2019 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. 20-23, 2020.

About the Author

Levi Leidy

Levi is a writer and editor based in Los Angeles. With a background in both print and digital publications, he’s written primarily about military lifestyle and politics and is now transitioning to personal finance. 

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