Top 10 cities with the lowest cost of living heres where you get the most for every dollar
Americans are feeling the financial pinch on all sides: Whether it’s the high cost of housing, home insurance, utilities, gasoline, or even groceries, it seems there is nowhere to hide from skyrocketing prices.Or is there? Research shows that the cost of living varies widely from state to state, and even city to city.So, what are the cities where you can have your paycheck stretched the furthest?To find which cities have the highest and lowest cost of living, the economic research team at Realtor.com examined the latest regional price parities (RPPs) data by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.Topping the list is McAllen, TX.With an RPP of 86.92%, what would cost you $100 nationally would cost only $86.92 in McAllen.
Put another way, the cost of living there is 13% lower than the average.“The metros with the lowest cost of living are largely concentrated in the South and the Midwest,” says Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones.“These areas tend to be smaller, with only Birmingham, AL, representing the 50 largest U.S.
metros, as the 50th largest.”And it isn’t just that you can bring home a larger bag of groceries in these areas than elsewhere.You can put down roots in these cities less expensively, too.“Home prices in these areas were $100,000 or more below the national median in September,” says Jones.John Macke, senior research analyst at John Burns Research and Consulting, says that affordable housing plays a large part in the cost of living data.“Looking at the BEA’s regional price parity data specifically, it’s the housing component that is much lower in these metros relative to others, making it the primary factor driving the lower cost of living,” says Macke.So if you’re thinking about relocating to an area where you’ll get more bang for your buck, read on.Low housing costs are the primary driver behind McAllen’s desirable low cost of living.“Nationally, the home price-to-income ratio is around 5.5 as of...