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 2015-06-08 09:11:01

America’s Most Affordable Places

by on May 18, 2015 | posted in Cities, Economics

Life is expensive. That’s true just about everywhere, but just how expensive varies widely. In Kodiak, Alaska, a Coca-Cola costs almost $2.50, while the same soda in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, averages $1.30. This difference illustrates the wide variation in cost for almost everything in the U.S. — from groceries to housing.

To find the top places for affordability, NerdWallet investigated price variations to assess where a dollar stretches the furthest in the U.S.

Not surprisingly, data on median income from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey revealed that many of the cheapest places in the U.S. are also where residents earn the least. In our study, we make a distinction between “cheap” and “affordable” by comparing a place’s median income with its cost of living to find truly affordable places.

Key findings

Wealthier places are more affordable. Despite a higher cost of living, the gains from a higher median income in wealthier places are more than the increased cost of living there.

Cost of living is clustered. Sure, there are outliers like New York City, New York, and Honolulu, Hawaii, where the cost of living is 122% and 74% above the U.S. average respectively, but the cost of living in most places is within a small range around the national average.

Within a place, costs can be diverse. Just because a place is affordable in one category, such as groceries, doesn’t mean the same is true for housing or utilities. In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the cost of utilities is 11% below the U.S. average, but groceries and housing are above the national average.

Relationship between income and cost of living

Our data show that higher-income areas tend to be more expensive, but how much more expensive? For example, in San Francisco, California, the median household income is $74,559, an impressive 43% higher than the national median of $52,176. But the cost of living for San Francisco residents is almost 67% higher than average, much more than the area’s income advantage.

Our study found similar trends for other well-to-do places such as Washington, D.C., and Seattle, Washington, where higher incomes are paired with a higher cost of living.

However, there are places where higher incomes aren’t offset by a more expensive cost of living. In this way, for example, a place such as Scottsdale, Arizona, might be more affordable than Tucson, Arizona.

In Scottsdale, the cost of living is 14% higher than the U.S. average, while in Tucson it is 3% below the average. However, the median income in Tucson is 31% below the national median while Scottsdale’s is 34% above. In this case, the data reveal why people in Scottsdale are doing better than Tucson residents.

As it turns out, the relationship between the cost of living index and the income index in the places we analyzed isn’t one to one, which means in many cities where the income index is higher, the cost of living index isn’t as high. This allows some wealthier places in our study an advantage when it comes to affordability because the cost of living remains relatively lower.

Data highlights

We calculated the percentage difference in the cost of items based on data from over 300 U.S. metropolitan areas.

A T-bone steak, at an average of $8.48 in Olympia, Washington, for a 12-ounce to 24-ounce cut, is cheaper than it would be in 99.7% of the places surveyed, according to our data.

In Juneau, Alaska, a pound of bananas costs $0.88 on average, which is more expensive than in 98.5% of other places.

A six-pack of Heineken in Omaha, Nebraska, is $7.43 — cheaper than it would be in 99.3% of places.

People in 88% of the places in our study will pay more for a phone line than those in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where the average landline is $22.91 a month.

A haircut in a Scottsdale, Arizona, salon costs $54.88, more expensive than 97% of the other places.

In Tracy, California, it costs $8.89 to dry-clean a men’s two-piece suit — a cheaper price than in 93.5% of the other places.

A bottle of white wine in Round Rock, Texas, costs about $5.16, which is less than 98.7% of the other places in our survey.

The 100 most affordable places in America

In this table, 100 is the average cost of living across the U.S. in the cost of living index; for the income index, 100 is the nation’s median income.

Rank Location Median household
income		 Income index Cost of living index Grocery index Housing index Utilities index Transportation
index		 Health care index Goods and services index
1 Plano, Texas $81,800 157 99 100 90 102 101 105 104
2 Edmond, Oklahoma $71,607 137 96 88 94 101 99 95 97
3 Round Rock, Texas $68,959 132 94 87 89 95 95 106 100
4 Juneau, Alaska $84,415 162 132 129 158 146 109 150 113
5 Midland, Texas $63,819 122 97 91 97 92 102 97 99
6 Hilton Head Island, South Carolina $67,643 129 106 112 108 103 97 105 107
7 Scottsdale, Arizona $70,078 134 114 104 143 92 102 102 105
8 Rio Rancho, New Mexico $58,281 112 92 95 77 89 101 97 101
9 Anchorage, Alaska $76,159 146 128 123 157 97 105 140 122
10 Tracy, California $73,559 141 124 120 159 107 113 105 106
11 Chapel Hill, North Carolina $63,757 122 107 103 104 89 101 100 120
12 Cheyenne, Wyoming $57,173 109 95 103 90 100 93 96 94
13 Sierra Vista, Arizona $58,040 111 97 94 93 103 102 96 98
14 Norman, Oklahoma $49,772 95 84 87 69 87 88 92 91
15 Raleigh, North Carolina $54,088 104 93 102 77 101 100 104 96
16 Weatherford, Texas $51,983 99 89 100 81 86 95 90 91
17 Austin, Texas $54,331 104 94 86 87 103 96 100 100
18 Colorado Springs, Colorado $53,619 103 97 93 98 94 99 104 97
19 Cedar Rapids, Iowa $51,338 98 93 91 85 104 96 103 95
20 Temple, Texas $47,688 91 86 84 77 81 88 95 94
21 Odessa, Texas $54,009 103 99 89 104 97 97 105 100
22 San Jose, California $80,609 154 150 120 245 126 111 117 107
23 Charlotte, North Carolina $51,271 98 95 100 85 107 97 101 96
24 Springfield, Illinois $47,571 91 88 95 80 77 102 105 87
25 Minot, North Dakota $57,374 110 107 104 121 87 109 106 102
26 Omaha, Nebraska $47,275 90 88 93 78 95 97 102 88
27 Lincoln, Nebraska $48,329 92 90 96 76 94 97 96 96
28 Corpus Christi, Texas $49,036 94 93 82 88 110 92 94 95
29 Amarillo, Texas $45,744 88 87 90 76 85 92 90 94
30 Idaho Falls, Idaho $44,195 85 84 95 61 80 95 103 94
31 Durham, North Carolina $48,046 92 92 98 77 89 101 99 99
32 Stamford, Connecticut $75,764 145 145 117 207 128 118 111 122
33 Lexington, Kentucky $47,977 92 92 97 74 96 96 90 102
34 Ann Arbor, Michigan $53,458 102 103 94 115 104 101 100 96
35 Olympia, Washington $52,393 100 101 102 99 84 111 122 101
36 Sioux Falls, South Dakota $51,099 98 99 96 94 104 94 102 104
37 Seattle, Washington $65,454 125 127 111 165 99 118 117 113
38 Bakersfield, California $54,675 105 106 110 104 113 115 107 101
39 Fort Worth, Texas $51,168 98 100 95 93 97 99 102 108
40 Denton, Texas $47,136 90 93 93 88 86 101 95 96
41 Huntsville, Alabama $47,575 91 94 101 79 105 100 97 99
42 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma $45,073 86 90 91 82 93 94 96 93
43 Jefferson City, Missouri $45,947 88 92 98 78 99 93 96 97
44 St. George, Utah $46,493 89 93 97 90 88 95 91 94
45 Hastings, Nebraska $48,067 92 97 101 94 102 93 100 98
46 Salina, Kansas $43,458 83 88 97 76 101 95 99 87
47 Dodge City, Kansas $46,957 90 95 94 87 102 91 94 101
48 Boise, Idaho $46,757 89 95 93 86 89 106 104 99
49 San Antonio, Texas $45,253 87 92 89 80 84 97 97 105
50 Fond du Lac, Wisconsin $46,389 89 94 102 79 98 100 108 100
51 Wichita, Kansas $44,532 85 91 96 73 111 96 97 96
52 Wichita Falls, Texas $43,903 84 90 88 81 87 94 99 96
53 Des Moines, Iowa $44,830 86 92 93 84 94 99 97 94
54 Moses Lake, Washington $45,369 87 93 97 84 74 101 120 99
55 Lubbock, Texas $43,413 83 89 94 82 79 94 97 93
56 McAllen, Texas $40,651 78 84 83 77 92 95 83 84
57 Salt Lake City, Utah $45,774 88 94 97 91 94 102 95 93
58 Rapid City, South Dakota $46,244 88 95 109 91 89 83 93 100
59 Jonesboro, Arkansas $41,886 80 87 93 78 85 88 85 92
60 Columbus, Ohio $43,441 83 90 93 79 96 99 96 92
61 Ardmore, Oklahoma $42,500 81 88 101 73 82 97 92 94
62 Dothan, Alabama $42,140 81 88 102 81 87 92 83 87
63 Madison, Wisconsin $51,833 99 107 103 114 101 106 115 103
64 Tacoma, Washington $50,653 97 105 100 95 102 108 111 113
65 Louisville, Kentucky $43,963 84 92 92 80 86 105 91 99
66 Enid, Oklahoma $45,749 88 95 96 89 100 97 90 100
67 Janesville, Wisconsin $45,877 88 96 98 86 112 99 110 95
68 Phoenix, Arizona $45,775 88 96 100 92 97 103 102 93
69 Tupelo, Mississippi $41,465 79 88 90 70 89 93 97 98
70 Conroe, Texas $43,701 84 92 89 85 101 95 99 95
71 Cedar City, Utah $41,757 80 89 98 76 87 97 88 94
72 Ashland, Ohio $39,175 75 84 98 63 85 97 94 89
73 Lafayette, Louisiana $45,317 87 96 94 94 93 101 87 99
74 St. Cloud, Minnesota $44,715 86 95 109 76 85 97 110 105
75 Tulsa, Oklahoma $41,162 79 89 96 65 96 99 96 98
76 Atlanta, Georgia $46,783 90 99 104 97 91 102 101 101
77 Bozeman, Montana $47,354 91 101 102 113 88 92 106 96
78 Mason City, Iowa $40,851 78 88 97 72 97 91 93 94
79 Jacksonville, Florida $45,978 88 98 102 85 107 104 90 103
80 Denver, Colorado $50,728 97 107 98 124 98 101 104 102
81 Vancouver, Washington $48,230 92 103 97 97 93 109 108 110
82 Eau Claire, Wisconsin $42,711 82 93 99 79 90 101 110 99
83 Decatur, Illinois $39,898 76 88 90 80 90 91 92 92
84 Tampa, Florida $41,927 80 92 99 76 104 102 91 96
85 Grand Junction, Colorado $44,409 85 97 94 101 85 102 105 96
86 Manhattan, Kansas $42,512 81 94 94 93 90 93 96 95
87 Columbia, Missouri $42,945 82 94 96 88 97 91 102 99
88 Minneapolis, Minnesota $49,777 95 108 104 115 93 104 101 110
89 San Angelo, Texas $42,958 82 95 96 84 97 99 86 102
90 Montgomery, Alabama $42,834 82 95 100 87 105 96 83 96
91 Tyler, Texas $43,239 83 95 93 96 94 96 91 97
92 Las Vegas, Nevada $48,676 93 106 111 107 91 105 102 108
93 Green Bay, Wisconsin $42,088 81 93 92 80 104 98 106 98
94 Lawton, Oklahoma $42,326 81 94 95 91 88 101 102 95
95 Lafayette, Indiana $40,153 77 90 95 73 101 107 98 91
96 Twin Falls, Idaho $41,028 79 92 91 79 92 110 93 96
97 Riverside, California $53,639 103 116 116 131 114 114 107 105
98 El Paso, Texas $41,657 80 93 100 86 88 97 89 97
99 Abilene, Texas $41,470 79 93 92 89 84 101 90 97
100 Houston, Texas $44,451 85 99 84 108 99 94 91 100

Methodology

To assess a place’s cost, we used the Council for Community and Economic Research’s 2014 cost of living index.

We compared this index with an index we created for income using the median household income from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Places with the biggest difference between the income index and the cost of living index were ranked favorably as the most affordable places.

Juneau, Alaska, image via iStock.

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