National Guide

Most Affordable Cities in the US

The cheapest places to live in 2026, ranked by cost of living from official data.

These rankings use a cost of living index where 100 is the U.S. national average — lower means cheaper. The figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and we exclude estimated values so every city below reflects real metro-level data. Click any city for its full profile, or drop into your state's guide to go deeper.

Most Affordable Large Cities (100,000+ Residents)

The cheapest big U.S. cities by overall cost of living.

#CityCost of LivingMedian HomeMedian RentMedian IncomePopulation
1 Brownsville, TX 85 $112,600 $872 $46,735 186,999
2 McAllen, TX 86 $158,700 $955 $56,326 142,722
3 Edinburg, TX 86 $159,600 $920 $54,139 100,964
4 Topeka, KS 86 $124,700 $926 $54,052 126,431
5 Lafayette, LA 87 $234,900 $1,022 $58,850 121,706
6 Shreveport, LA 87 $168,900 $945 $45,967 186,183
7 Laredo, TX 88 $164,400 $968 $60,928 255,293
8 Peoria, IL 89 $146,700 $917 $58,068 113,054
9 Columbus, GA 89 $168,400 $1,038 $54,561 204,572
10 Wichita Falls, TX 89 $128,800 $949 $55,584 102,482
11 Little Rock, AR 89 $205,800 $1,006 $58,697 202,218
12 Springfield, MO 89 $146,400 $878 $43,450 168,873
13 Columbia, MO 89 $248,600 $997 $60,455 126,172
14 Davenport, IA 89 $155,100 $890 $59,890 101,448
15 Mobile, AL 89 $158,400 $985 $48,524 186,316
16 Fargo, ND 89 $254,900 $900 $64,432 127,319
17 Tulsa, OK 90 $174,200 $958 $56,648 411,938
18 Wichita, KS 90 $166,400 $915 $60,712 395,951
19 Broken Arrow, OK 90 $210,800 $1,183 $82,547 114,237
20 Billings, MT 90 $285,300 $1,064 $69,692 117,093
21 Abilene, TX 90 $161,800 $1,060 $59,254 126,356
22 Evansville, IN 90 $121,100 $917 $49,853 116,906
23 Fort Wayne, IN 90 $152,500 $904 $58,233 264,514
24 Macon-Bibb County, GA 90 $155,200 $967 $48,897 156,554
25 Cedar Rapids, IA 90 $167,900 $886 $66,895 136,929
26 Tuscaloosa, AL 90 $228,300 $980 $47,257 105,797
27 Rockford, IL 90 $114,100 $906 $50,744 148,173
28 El Paso, TX 90 $159,300 $976 $55,710 677,181
29 Beaumont, TX 90 $150,400 $992 $53,745 114,573
30 Sioux Falls, SD 90 $250,000 $965 $71,785 193,401

Most Affordable Mid-Size Cities (25,000–100,000)

Smaller cities that stretch a paycheck the furthest.

#CityCost of LivingMedian HomeMedian RentMedian IncomePopulation
1 Pine Bluff, AR 80 $88,700 $819 $39,411 41,172
2 Monroe, LA 84 $158,200 $790 $36,550 47,631
3 Fort Smith, AR 85 $155,600 $798 $50,799 89,315
4 Harlingen, TX 85 $111,600 $867 $50,367 71,497
5 Texarkana, TX 85 $158,400 $913 $48,054 36,156
6 Texarkana, AR 85 $153,400 $837 $45,233 29,404
7 Kingsport, TN 85 $181,600 $772 $48,228 55,415
8 Bristol, TN 85 $165,600 $746 $49,130 27,307
9 Mission, TX 86 $147,600 $876 $56,421 85,755
10 Pharr, TX 86 $98,300 $926 $45,016 79,434
11 Joplin, MO 86 $147,000 $873 $50,996 51,848
12 Weslaco, TX 86 $102,200 $884 $53,517 40,858
13 Florence, AL 86 $168,800 $757 $47,048 40,781
14 Youngstown, OH 86 $54,900 $711 $34,295 60,048
15 Warren, OH 86 $74,300 $734 $33,296 39,204
16 Austintown, OH 86 $122,000 $749 $50,241 30,397
17 Enid, OK 86 $136,500 $861 $60,790 50,961
18 Grand Forks, ND 86 $237,000 $927 $59,079 58,935
19 Alexandria, LA 86 $179,900 $928 $49,049 45,133
20 Cape Girardeau, MO 86 $177,500 $822 $51,671 39,795
21 Albany, GA 86 $111,200 $889 $43,724 68,926
22 Decatur, IL 87 $96,800 $770 $49,039 70,975
23 Mansfield, OH 87 $97,300 $733 $40,996 47,630
24 Lake Charles, LA 87 $191,200 $1,007 $54,761 82,430
25 Valdosta, GA 87 $152,100 $932 $41,365 55,266
26 Danville, IL 87 $79,200 $760 $42,424 29,100
27 Duluth, MN 87 $209,800 $990 $63,545 86,772
28 New Iberia, LA 87 $150,600 $817 $47,108 28,363
29 Bossier City, LA 87 $187,000 $1,044 $54,100 62,971
30 Lewiston, ID 87 $259,800 $890 $63,109 34,270

Most Affordable Cities by State

States ranked by median city cost of living, with the single most affordable city in each. Open a state for its full Best Places to Live guide.

#StateMedian Cost of LivingMost Affordable City
1 West Virginia 89 Huntington (88)
2 Arkansas 89 Pine Bluff (80)
3 North Dakota 89 Grand Forks (86)
4 Oklahoma 90 Enid (86)
5 South Dakota 90 Dakota Dunes (88)
6 Iowa 91 Waterloo (88)
7 Mississippi 91 Gulfport (89)
8 Louisiana 91 Monroe (84)
9 Alabama 91 Florence (86)
10 Wyoming 92 Casper (92)
11 Nebraska 92 Grand Island (87)
12 Montana 93 Billings (90)
13 Ohio 93 Youngstown (86)
14 Tennessee 93 Kingsport (85)
15 South Carolina 93 Florence (88)
16 New Mexico 93 Albuquerque (93)
17 Kentucky 93 Elizabethtown (89)
18 Kansas 93 Topeka (86)
19 Idaho 93 Lewiston (87)
20 Nevada 94 Carson (94)
21 Arizona 94 Lake Havasu City (90)
22 Indiana 95 Terre Haute (88)
23 Utah 95 Logan (93)
24 Wisconsin 96 Wausau (90)
25 Pennsylvania 96 Erie (92)
26 Missouri 96 Joplin (86)
27 North Carolina 97 Rocky Mount (88)
28 Michigan 98 Flint (90)
29 Vermont 100 Burlington (100)
30 Texas 100 Brownsville (85)
31 Georgia 101 Albany (86)
32 Rhode Island 101 Providence (101)
33 Illinois 103 Decatur (87)
34 Maryland 103 Hagerstown (95)
35 Florida 103 Tallahassee (95)
36 Delaware 104 Dover (92)
37 Minnesota 104 Duluth (87)
38 Alaska 104 Anchorage (104)
39 Colorado 106 Grand Junction (92)
40 Hawaii 106 Kahului (106)
41 Connecticut 106 Bridgeport (106)
42 Oregon 107 Grants Pass (101)
43 District of Columbia 109 Washington (109)
44 Virginia 109 Lynchburg (90)
45 Massachusetts 112 Springfield (98)
46 New Hampshire 112 Dover (112)
47 New York 112 Elmira (92)
48 New Jersey 112 Vineland (94)
49 Washington 113 Walla Walla (98)
50 California 114 Hanford (98)

Frequently Asked Questions

Brownsville, TX ranks among the most affordable larger U.S. cities, with a cost of living index of 85 (national average = 100) and a median home value of $112,600.
By median city cost of living, West Virginia, Arkansas, and North Dakota are among the most affordable states. Browse any state above for its most affordable cities.
The cost of living index sets the U.S. national average at 100. Below 100 means cheaper than average; above 100 means more expensive. Figures come from Census ACS data and BEA Regional Price Parities.

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