Cheap Cities You’ll Love To Live In
Whether you’re just starting out or already in retirement, your financial well-being can be impacted greatly by your city's cost of living. Even with a high income or plenty of retirement savings, it can be tough to get by where costs are high. More affordable cities, meanwhile, can make it easier to get ahead financially.
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But living in a cheap city can come with trade-offs — such as a lack of amenities, struggling school districts or even higher crime rates. To identify affordable places where you can get ahead financially without sacrificing the quality of life, GOBankingRates analyzed U.S. cities with populations of at least 100,000 along with a number of factors.
Last updated: July 13, 2021
30. Elgin, Illinois
Median household income: $69,041
Average home value, 2021: $235,829
Livability: 77
Violent crime rate: 2.01
Property crime rate: 13.10
Overall cost of living: 93.1
Annual expenditure: $57,488.32
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29. Davenport, Iowa
Median household income: $51,029
Average home value, 2021: $149,329
Livability: 72
Violent crime rate: 5.99
Property crime rate: 38.57
Overall cost of living: 81.7
Annual expenditure: $50,448.93
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28. Lansing, Michigan
Median household income: $$41,674
Average home value, 2021: $117,922
Livability: 65
Violent crime rate: 11.18
Property crime rate: 28.73
Overall cost of living: 76.5
Annual expenditure: $47,237.99
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27. Palm Bay, Florida
Median household income: $51,408
Average home value, 2021: $214,342
Livability: 77
Violent crime rate: 3.43
Property crime rate: 17.14
Overall cost of living: 89.9
Annual expenditure: $55,512.35
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26. Columbus, Ohio
Median household income: $51,029
Average home value, 2021: $149,329
Livability: 72
Violent crime rate: 5.99
Property crime rate: 38.57
Overall cost of living: 81.7
Annual expenditure: $50,448.93
25. Augusta, Georgia
Median household income: $42,592
Average home value, 2021: $135,096
Livability: 61
Violent crime rate: 3.32
Property crime rate: 32.18
Overall cost of living: 80.7
Annual expenditure: $49,831.44
24. Montgomery, Alabama
Median household income: $48,011
Average home value, 2021: $105,359
Livability: 61
Violent crime rate: 5.99
Property crime rate: 40.52
Overall cost of living: 75.8
Annual expenditure: $46,805.74
23. Lakeland, Florida
Median household income: $47,511
Average home value, 2021: $208,851
Livability: 82
Violent crime rate: 3.52
Property crime rate: 28.85
Overall cost of living: 86.4
Annual expenditure: $53,351.14
22. Dayton, Ohio
Median household income: $32,540
Average home value, 2021: $81,550
Livability: 60
Violent crime rate: 9.62
Property crime rate: 40.40
Overall cost of living: 71.4
Annual expenditure: $44,088.79
21. Amarillo, Texas
Median household income: $52,725
Average home value, 2021: $152,815
Livability: 79
Violent crime rate: 7.26
Property crime rate: 39.30
Overall cost of living: 80.1
Annual expenditure: $49,460.95
20. Joliet, Illinois
Median household income: $70,509
Average home value, 2021: $169,756
Livability: 68
Violent crime rate: 5.10
Property crime rate: 14.77
Overall cost of living: 84.5
Annual expenditure: $52,177.91
19. Aurora, Illinois
Median household income: $71,749
Average home value, 2021: $214,961
Livability: 77
Violent crime rate: 2.61
Property crime rate: 10.22
Overall cost of living: 91.1
Annual expenditure: $56,253.34
18. Tyler, Texas
Median household income: $52,932
Average home value, 2021: $183,725
Livability: 76
Violent crime rate: 3.76
Property crime rate: 30.03
Overall cost of living: 82.8
Annual expenditure: $51,128.17
17. Norman, Oklahoma
Median household income: $58,119
Average home value, 2021: $193,113
Livability: 84
Violent crime rate: 2.87
Property crime rate: 28.24
Overall cost of living: 89.4
Annual expenditure: $55,203.61
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16. Waco, Texas
Median household income: $40,190
Average home value, 2021: $165,552
Livability: 73
Violent crime rate: 5.81
Property crime rate: 34.42
Overall cost of living: 77
Annual expenditure: $47,546.73
15. Macon, Georgia
Median household income: $41,334
Average home value, 2021: $102,213
Livability: 63
Violent crime rate: 5.70
Property crime rate: 41.35
Overall cost of living: 74.7
Annual expenditure: $46,126.50
14. Green Bay, Wisconsin
Median household income: $49,251
Average home value, 2021: $171,930
Livability: 70
Violent crime rate: 5.07
Property crime rate: 16.64
Overall cost of living: 82.3
Annual expenditure: $50,819.52
13. Toledo, Ohio
Median household income: $37,752
Average home value, 2021: $88,668
Livability: 64
Violent crime rate: 9.56
Property crime rate: 35.17
Overall cost of living: 72.7
Annual expenditure: $44,891.52
12. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Median household income: $58,511
Average home value, 2021: $166,998
Livability: 78
Violent crime rate: 2.58
Property crime rate: 33.47
Overall cost of living: 81.6
Annual expenditure: $50,387.18
11. Laredo, Texas
Median household income: $47,593
Average home value, 2021: $164,244
Livability: 74
Violent crime rate: 3.19
Property crime rate: 18.02
Overall cost of living: 84
Annual expenditure: $51,869.16
10. Akron, Ohio
Median household income: $38,739
Average home value, 2021: $85,811
Livability: 66
Violent crime rate: 9.04
Property crime rate: 33.63
Overall cost of living: 69.5
Annual expenditure: $42,915.56
9. Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Median household income: $73,119
Average home value, 2021: $202,059
Livability: 89
Violent crime rate: 1.25
Property crime rate: 17.94
Overall cost of living: 90.9
Annual expenditure: $56,129.84
8. San Angelo, Texas
Median household income: $51,928
Average home value, 2021: $157,923
Livability: 83
Violent crime rate: 3.54
Property crime rate: 31.73
Overall cost of living: 81.6
Annual expenditure: $50,387.18
7. Fort Wayne, Indiana
Median household income: $49,411
Average home value, 2021: $168,453
Livability: 81
Violent crime rate: 3.62
Property crime rate: 27.56
Overall cost of living: 78.9
Annual expenditure: $48,719.96
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6. Killeen, Texas
Median household income: $49,630
Average home value, 2021: $159,792
Livability: 78
Violent crime rate: 3.84
Property crime rate: 22.64
Overall cost of living: 78.5
Annual expenditure: $48,225.97
5. Abilene, Texas
Median household income: $50,659
Average home value, 2021: $155,441
Livability: 80
Violent crime rate: 3.72
Property crime rate: 26.07
Overall cost of living: 78.1
Annual expenditure: $48,225.97
4. El Paso, Texas
Median household income: $47,568
Average home value, 2021: $158,261
Livability: 79
Violent crime rate: 3.6
Property crime rate: 15.70
Overall cost of living: 81.4
Annual expenditure: $50,263.69
3. McAllen, Texas
Median household income: $46,804
Average home value, 2021: $163,951
Livability: 84
Violent crime rate: 0.98
Property crime rate: 25.09
Overall cost of living: 78.6
Annual expenditure: $48,534.71
2. Brownsville, Texas
Median household income: $38,588
Average home value, 2021: $124,505
Livability: 76
Violent crime rate: 4.63
Property crime rate: 26.12
Overall cost of living: 70.3
Annual expenditure: $43,409.55
1. Wichita Falls, Texas
Median household income: $47,476
Average home value, 2021: $116,477
Livability: 84
Violent crime rate: 3.48
Property crime rate: 30.41
Overall cost of living: 74.5
Annual expenditure: $46,003.01
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Jordan Rosenfeld contributed to the reporting for this article.
Methodology: GOBankingRates determined cheap cities you'll love to live in by analyzing U.S. cities with at least 100,000 people along the following criteria: (1) average home value price for 2021, based on taking the average home value from the months January through May 2021 from Zillow's May 2021 data; this value had to be cheaper than the corresponding value for the U.S. overall, $287,148, in order to be considered as a finalist in the study; (2) livability score, sourced from AreaVibes; (3) violent crime rate per 1,000 residents; (4) property crime rate per 1,000 residents, sourced from NeighborhoodScout; and (5) annual expenditure as sourced from the 2019/20 Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey and hen factored for each city using from Sperling's Best Places cost of living indices. Each factor was scored, then added up for the final ranking. All data compiled on July 5, 2021. Population numbers were sourced from the Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Cheap Cities You’ll Love To Live In
