To afford life in a big city like San Francisco, California, you would have to earn twice the income of most Americans, according to a May analysis by Moody’s Analytics.
U.S. News and World Report has released its rankings of cities with the lowest cost of living, based on average gross rent and annual housing costs for homeowners with a mortgage payment.
The rankings used data from sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of Labor. The data was categorized into four indices:
- Quality of life: How satisfied are the residents with their daily lives?
- Value: How well the average resident of a city can afford to live within his means
- Desirability: In which cities would people most like to live?
- Job market: The strength of each city’s labor market
Each index received a score of 0–10.
Fort Wayne, Indiana, is the cheapest place to live in the USA
Overall score: 6.6
Quality of life: 6.5
Value: 8.2
Fort Wayne is located in northeast Indiana and near the border with Ohio and Michigan.
It is the second most populous city in the state after Indianapolis. According to US News and World Report, Fort Wayne has undergone a long-term revitalization in recent years to bring new residential and commercial space to the downtown and riverfront areas.
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Photo by Mike Kline (Notkalvin) | Moment | Getty Images
The 10 cheapest places to live in the USA
- Fort Wayne, Indiana.
- Huntsville, Alabama.
- Kansas City, MO.
- Springfield, Missouri.
- Davenport, Iowa
- Hickory, North Carolina
- Montgomery, Alabama.
- Green Bay, Wisconsin.
- Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Huntsville, Alabama was ranked the second most affordable place to live in America. It received an overall score of 6.8, a quality of life score of 6.6, and a value score of 8.1.
Huntsville, Alabama
Davel5957 | E+ | Getty Images
A July report from LendingTree found that Huntsville is the most overlooked metropolitan area when it comes to homeownership. The city’s homeownership rate is 70.46%, the median home value is $292,700, and the median annual property tax on a home with a mortgage is $963.
The city also had one of the lowest average rents – $863 per month for a one-bedroom apartment.
According to PayScale, the cost of living in Huntsville is 8% lower than the national average and housing costs are 25% lower.
A report by ApartmentAdvisor found that Huntsville is also the second cheapest city in the United States.
Huntsville became synonymous with the U.S. space program during the space race in the 1960s, and NASA has one of its largest centers on a military base in the area. The city is home to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.
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