The 10 Most — and Least — Affordable Places to Live in the US

Looking to live on less? Don’t bother looking at most “cheapest states to live in” lists for potential hometowns. Lists like these abound online, but they generally suffer from two fatal flaws—the inexpensive locations they cite often are inexpensive because they’re places where people don’t want to live or can’t find good jobs…and they base their calculations on a diverse basket of expenses, deemphasizing the single factor that matters most—housing costs.

Here’s a list of the most affordable places to live that features metropolitan areas that have not only low home prices but also strong economies, low crime rates and high qualities of life—in short, places you not only can live inexpensively but also live well…

1. Ames, Iowa. When you think of Iowa, most of us think of corn fields. While Ames has a suitably small-town middle-America feel in many ways, it is also a vibrant and varied place. Ames is a college town—home to Iowa State University—and like many college towns, it offers an impressive range of cultural opportunities, sporting events and other activities. The local economy is stable, the local school system is strong, crime rates are low, and the average home price is a little over $250,000. Des Moines, a city with a population of more than 700,000, is just 40 miles away when a major airport or other urban amenity is required. You might get odd looks from friends if you tell them you’re moving to Ames, but that’s how to find affordability—move to a great place that most people haven’t yet realized is great.
2. Manhattan, Kansas. This town on the Kansas River might not be the place that pops to mind when you hear “Manhattan”—but if affordability is your priority, it probably should be. Like Ames, this Manhattan is a college town in a farming state—in this case, the college is Kansas State University. And as with Ames, the University brings a vitality and range of entertainment options not available in most metro areas of less than 100,000. The average home costs $244,000 in Manhattan—that’s less than one-fifth of the average home cost in the other Manhattan. This Midwestern Manhattan might not offer the excitement of urban life, but there are cities within reasonable driving distance—Topeka is 50 miles away…and Kansas City, 120 miles.
3. Great Falls, Montana. Bad news for Yellowstone fans who dream of moving to Montana and enjoying that state’s scenic beauty and wide-open spaces—lots of other people have beaten you to it. Several desirable Montana metro areas, including Bozeman and Missoula, have become surprisingly expensive. Great Falls is the state’s best remaining bargain—the average house price there is a still-affordable $325,000. This small city on the Missouri River provides plenty of options for outdoor activities, and its downtown offers more culture and activity than the typical city of its size—Great Falls’s population is only around 85,000. It is worth noting that the Montana winters are long and Great Falls is easily the most isolated metro area on this list—the nearest city of any size, Billings, is three hours away.
4. Scranton/Wilkes Barre/Hazleton, Pennsylvania. A decade or two ago, the sitcom The Office presented Scranton as an unglamorous place—just a stepping stone, perhaps, on a career path that might lead to New York City. But in the post-pandemic world, plenty of people have concluded that living in New York City and its surrounding suburbs simply isn’t worth the costs and hassles. Suddenly Scranton—along with nearby Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton—seems like the sort of place that many people want to live. It’s a place where an ordinary family can afford a home with a yard—the average home price is around $210,000—yet it’s only around two hours from New York City, which is close enough that someone could reasonably commute to the city once or twice a week. Known as a coal-mining region a century ago, the Scranton area now is a pleasant and pretty spot on the Susquehanna River that features plenty of history, character and community.
5. Lake County, Illinois/Kenosha County, Wisconsin. Positioned between Chicago and Milwaukee along the shores of Lake Michigan, this attractive metro region offers convenient access to both big cities at a reasonable price—the average home in the area is $347,000. How long it takes to get from this metro area to Chicago or Milwaukee depends on precisely where someone settles within Lake or Kenosha counties and, of course, on traffic, but generally speaking residents can access the culture, restaurants, health-care providers and major airports of both of those big cities in less than 90 minutes and potentially as little as 30 minutes. The Illinois/Wisconsin state line runs through this metro area—it is best to settle on the Wisconsin side if Illinois’ tax rates or budget challenges are a concern.
6. Rockingham County/Strafford County, New Hampshire. These counties in the southeastern corner of New Hampshire aren’t as inexpensive as the other locations on this list—average home prices are $556,000—but those home prices still are lower than you would pay in other desirable communities within an hour’s drive of Boston. Local crime rates are extremely low, and New Hampshire’s taxes are significantly lower than those of other New England states—there’s no state income tax at all on salaries. Portsmouth in Rockingham County is a picturesque and culturally vibrant waterfront city.
7. Duluth, Minnesota/Superior, Wisconsin. Sharing a downtown metro area with Superior, Wisconsin, the port city of Duluth, Minnesota is an attractive and affordable place on Lake Superior—average home price is just $282,000. Minnesota does have relatively steep taxes, but if that’s a concern, you could settle on the Wisconsin side of the state line that runs through this metro area (known as Twin Ports). Duluth and Superior are particularly appealing places for anyone who’s concerned about global warming—these northern cities are not going to get too hot even if global temperatures surge, and their location on the Great Lakes means that they’re unlikely to ever run short of fresh water. Twin Ports isn’t tiny—the metro area is home to around a quarter million people—and Minneapolis, 150 miles to the south, is not totally out of reach when the amenities of an even larger city are needed. The main downside is the obvious one—the winters can be very cold.
8. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. If you want to live in a major city, not just within driving distance of one, Pittsburgh is perhaps the best bargain in the US—home prices average just $220,000. Pittsburgh was widely seen as a fading industrial city not too many decades ago, but it has rebounded strongly. Now a vibrant region with more than two million people, it is home to a range of high-tech employers, universities, cultural options and major league sports teams, not to mention scenic beauty—it’s positioned in a hilly area where three rivers converge.
9. Omaha, Nebraska/Council Bluffs, Iowa. Omaha is a larger, more vibrant place than people tend to realize—this famously friendly metro area on the Missouri River is home to nearly one million people, a diverse range of employers, plus several colleges and universities. Like many college towns, it offers a plethora of cultural and entertainment options. There’s a reason why Warren Buffett, who can afford to live anywhere, chooses to remain in Omaha—and in fact, he is not this city’s only billionaire. But you don’t have to be a billionaire to live well in Omaha—the cost of living is low, and the average home price is just $293,000. Kansas City is 120 miles away.
10. Michigan City/La Porte, Indiana. This scenic metro area on the southern shore of Lake Michigan offers a small-town feel as well as access to Chicago, just 50 miles away. South Bend, Indiana, home to Notre Dame University, is even closer. Average home price is around $238,000.

If those are all too cold for you: Perhaps you’d like to live affordably but a bit farther south. There are several warm-weather metro areas that narrowly missed making this top-10 list, including…

• El Paso, Texas—average home price, $220,000—offers a distinctive and welcoming community with a strong Mexican influence.
• Daphne/Fairhope/Foley, Alabama—average home price $389,000—offers access to the beaches of the Gulf Coast as well as to the nearby cities of Mobile and Pensacola, Florida.
• Blacksburg/Christiansburg/Radford Virginia—average house price $272,000— home to Virginia Tech. It is an extremely low-crime region near the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.

10 Most Expensive Cities in the US…That People Don’t Realize Are Expensive

No one needs an article to tell them which US cities are massively expensive. The cities with the highest cost of living are precisely those that you would expect—New York City…San Francisco…San Jose…Honolulu…Los Angeles…Washington, DC…Boston…San Diego…Miami…and Seattle. Does anyone really need to be warned that relocating to New York City will be pricey?

The more interesting list is the cities where life is significantly more expensive than people expect and where incomes aren’t keeping pace with the costs. Unlike the famously expensive cities above, someone might relocate to one of these areas without realizing how hard it is for locals to cover their costs.

Here are the 10 “sneaky expensive” cities based on cost of living relative to median household income and the salaries earned by people in core professions such as firefighter, police officer, nurse and teacher…

These cities are not unpleasant places to live—in fact, most of them are such nice places that large numbers of outsiders have moved in, pushing up housing costs. But living in sneaky expensive cities such as these can be problematic even for people who have above-average incomes or are retired. Regions like these often struggle to retain the sorts of people that communities require to function properly when the local cost of living races well ahead of earning potential, leading to declining quality of life, sagging school systems and, eventually, weakness in home values. If your goal is to get as much as possible from your money, these are not places you should opt to live.