10 States With the Best-Paying Jobs and Cheapest Housing

Do you know which U.S. states have affordable housing and plenty of jobs available to professionals? GOBankingRates used the March 2023 Zillow Home Value Index and March 2023 Zillow Observed Rental Index filtered by states. The top 10 states were ranked based on 2023 average rent and home value and the labor force participation rate and unemployment rate.

Ready to move somewhere with a lower cost of living and employment opportunities? These 10 states have the best-paying jobs and cheapest housing.

• 2023 average rent: $1,147.51
• 2023 home value: $176,107.12
• Labor force participation rate: 58.1%
• Unemployment rate: 3%

• 2023 average rent: $1,032.97
• 2023 home value: $189,084.69
• Labor force participation rate: 60.8%
• Unemployment rate: 3%

• 2023 average rent: $1,072.62
• 2023 home value: $201,545.64
• Labor force participation rate: 66.8%
• Unemployment rate: 2.8%

• 2023 average rent: $898.50
• 2023 home value: $208,882.50
• Labor force participation rate: 65.8%
• Unemployment rate: 2.9%

• 2023 average rent: $1,016.02
• 2023 home value: $262,565.60
• Labor force participation rate: 66.0%
• Unemployment rate: 2.5%

• 2023 average rent: $1,011.28
• 2023 home value: $226,968.21
• Labor force participation rate: 62.9%
• Unemployment rate: 2.5%

• 2023 average rent: $1,318.07
• 2023 home value: $201,212.15
• Labor force participation rate: 57.4%
• Unemployment rate: 2.3%

• 2023 average rent: $1,120.85
• 2023 home value: $242,559.96
• Labor force participation rate: 68.9%
• Unemployment rate: 2.1%

• 2023 average rent: $1,051.12
• 2023 home value: $245,225.87
• Labor force participation rate: 68.5%
• Unemployment rate: 2.1%

• 2023 average rent: $1,147.71
• 2023 home value: $283,596.45
• Labor force participation rate: 67.5%
• Unemployment rate: 1.9%

_{Methodology: In order to identify US states that have plenty of jobs and cheap housing, GoBankingRates gathered the March 2023 Zillow Home Value Index and March 2023 Zillow Observed Rental Index filtered by states. GoBankingRates then gathered unemployment data from March 2023 Bureau of Labor Statistics. Then all the states were scored with the first two factors weighing half as much as the third factor. The scores were combined and sorted with the lowest score being the best. Supplemental information was then found for the top 15 states including; labor force participation (for population 16+) and median household income from the 2022 US Census quickfacts. All data was collected and is up-to-date as of May 12th, 2023.}