Cheapest Cities to Live in the US
People are often searching for the cheapest cities to live in the US, so i thought I would do a bit of research and try to understand more about it. This can be difficult to determine which city would be the cheapest to live in because you have to factor incomes, expenses, and also consider renting vs. owning. In this article, we will take a general look at all of these. First, let’s jump into the final answer, then discuss some of the cheapest cities to live in the US are at the top of the list.
Which City is the Cheapest to Live in the US?
I found a great article over at ProperyShark.com which covers this here: How Much Money Are You Left with Each Month After Paying All Expenses? The results are a bit counter intuitive, but bear with me here. It took me a minute to wrap my head around the results.
OK – drum roll please….
The cheapest city to live in if you are an owner is: Manhattan
The cheapest city to live in if you are a renter is: Virginia Beach
Are you surprised? Before you call BS, hear me out here!
How to Determine the Cheapest City in the US to Live?
To determine the cheapest cities to live in the US, we need a couple pieces of information. First, we will assume that if you move to this city, you will earn the median income for that city. That’s a big assumption, but it is the best we have to go on. Next, we need to look at rental prices for each city or home prices for each city. Finally, we need to consider the other general living expenses that one would incur each month. If we put all that together, we can try to calculate which city is the cheapest to live in the US. And by cheapest, we mean how much money are you left with at the end of the month to save.
Why is Manhattan the Cheapest City to Own Property In?
From the study outlined above, we can see that what makes Manhattan the cheapest city to own property in the US is that the median income is so high! Check it out at the link – it’s over $11K per month! So, after paying the mortgage and living expenses, you will still have a ton of money left over. It’s pretty counter-intuitive, but if you can haul in the median income, then you pretty much have it made.
Why is Virginia Beat the Cheapest City to Rent In?
The reason that Virginia Beach is THE cheapest city to rent in is that the median income is very high in comparison to monthly rent prices and other living expenses. The study at PropertyShark.com tells us that the normal person earning the median income will save an average of over $800 a month! Not too shabby :-).
Just for fun, let’s look at the worst city to rent in…
What is the Worst City to Rent in the US?
Again, trusting our handy rental and ownership study conducted by PropertyShark.com and RentCafe, the worst city to rent in the US is Boston! That makes complete sense to me. Rental expenses run high, and median income has not really kept up with rising rates.
Final Thoughts
You can really learn a lot by understanding the complete picture of what it would be like financially to move to several major cities. It pays to compare not just how much you might make, but also how much rent/mortgage will run you each month. In your analysis, you’ll also want to look at other general expenses such as food and transportation. If you do your homework to find the cheapest cities to live in the US before selecting a city to move to, you may save yourself thousands each year!
