If consumer surveys hold true that Americans are indeed more willing to move to find affordable places to live, certain locales within the U.S. may hold the most promise and be poised for growth.
Move.org, a moving resource company, analyzed the 74 most populous cities and ranked them based on how high their monthly living costs are and calculated the city’s median income. The average median individual income across the 74 cities is $33,749 and the median household income is $64,246.
Move.org identified the following cities as having the lowest living costs:
Wichita, Kan.
- Monthly cost of living: $1,219
- Median yearly income: $30,563
Cincinnati
- Monthly cost of living: $1,226
- Median yearly income: $46,260
Tulsa, Okla.
- Monthly cost of living: $1,249
- Median yearly income: $29,429
St. Louis
- Monthly cost of living: $1,265
- Median yearly income: $31,415
Memphis, Tenn.
- Monthly cost of living: $1,267
- Median yearly income: $25,790
El Paso, Texas
- Monthly cost of living: $1,276
- Median yearly income: $23,217
Louisville, Ky.
- Monthly cost of living: $1,312
- Median yearly income: $31,220
Indianapolis
- Monthly cost of living: $1,315
- Median yearly income: $30,666
Oklahoma City
- Monthly cost of living: $1,320
- Median yearly income: $31,626
Tucson, Ariz.
- Monthly cost of living: $1,330
- Median yearly income: $25,341
Meanwhile, the cities with the highest cost of living include Irvine, Calif. (monthly cost of living: $3,062; median yearly income: $55,484) and San Jose, Calif. (monthly cost of living $2,812; median yearly income: $44,890).
Source: “U.S. Cities With the Lowest Cost of Living in 2021,” Move.org (2021)
