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| Cheapest Places To Live In America |
Finding the cheapest place to live in America is not exactly cut and dry. There are many factors involved. Therefore, in this article we are going to look into some of these factors and the different relationships they create.
If you are looking to move and are serious about living in a frugal way, then it’s a great idea to look deeply into the cost of living as well as the price of real estate.
One way the US Department of Labor measures cost of living is by what’s called CPI. The USA CPI (The United States Consumer Price Index), isn’t a complete cost of living index; rather, it helps to gather many details such as job rates and wages averages. I couldn’t find out which state the US government deemed the cheapest. Thus I was forced to do some of my own research.
Some of these states have lower wages for service jobs. However, considering most states have lower wages starting at around $5, these are pretty good. Keep in mind, however, that other costs of living may be much higher in the four states mentioned above.
Cheapest housing in USA
| Market | Median home price* |
| Minot, N.D. | $132,300 |
| Killen, Texas | $140,310 |
| Arlington, Texas | $140,975 |
| Grayling, Mich. | $144,250 |
| Topeka, Kan. | $148,050 |
| Canton, Ohio | $148,333 |
| Tulsa, Okla. | $148,575 |
| Billings, Mont. | $150,141 |
| Fort Worth, Texas | $151,250 |
| Cadillac, Mich. | $151,530 |
| *All prices for 2,200 sq-ft., 4 br, 2 1/2 bath homes; Source: Coldwell Banker’s Home Price Comparison Inde | |
North Dakota is the cheapest place to purchase a house right now. But they also have a minimum wage of $6.55 (from July 24th 2008). If you are in the market for a minimum wage job, it may not be the best place to buy, but if you are able to relocate with your current job (bloggers like me
) then it could be a great place to investigate further.If you are looking to rent….
1. Wichita, Kansas. – Here you can get a 600-square-ft, one-bedroom with a big kitchen and full-size washer and dryer for $470. Golf and country club fees are included. You can also join the fitness center and tanning parlor for a small cost.
2. Oklahoma City. – Here you’ll get a 900 square-ft home with a gym any fitness die-hard would kill for, all for $490 a month.
3. Tulsa, Oklahoma. – You can live in a brand-new, 600-square-ft, one-bedroom near a pond filled with ducks for $520 a month. The apartment is right next door to several golf and country clubs.
4. Knoxville, Tennessee. -Here you get a one bedroom hidden in the woods that comes with a balcony, a nearby pool, a tennis court and playground for $560 a month.
5. Dayton, Ohio. – You get a 500-square-ft, one-bedroom on the lake, with your own parking space, for $570 a month. Best of all, you can use a portion of your monthly rent toward a down payment if you decide to buy.
Of all these places, Ohio has the highest minimum wage at $7/hour. I am sure that you can get much cheaper houses to rent than the luxurious places priced here.
Price of White Bread and Beer
For many, these two commodities are seen as essentials (I would not recomend Beer as an essential BTW!) Looking at the prices, I found the following:Price of White bread: (Keep in mind that due to the current price of oil, combined with the food crisis, the prices here are probably lower than today’s prices).
| Region | February 1999 | February 2000 |
| Northeast | $1.044 | $1.101 |
| Midwest | $0.889 | $0.896 |
| South | $0.774 | $0.822 |
| West | $0.900 | $0.964 |
Price of Beer:
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| price of beer |
According to Pint Price, which gathers data from users, here are a bunch of places to get a beer for less than $2:
Allentown, Pa $1.25 USD
Antigo, Wi $1.25 USD
Athens, OH $1.85 USD
Elmira , NY $1.75 USD
Fort, Tx $1.99 USD
Islip $1 USD
Lock Haven Pa. $1.75 USD
Mt. Vernon, IL. $1.5 USD
Pontiac,MI $1 USD
Shanghai $1.57 USD
Sunnyvale $1.52 USD
Tamaqua $1.75 USD
Texarkana,Ar $1.5 USD
Waterford, MI $1.55 USD
Wenona, IL $1 USD
Wheeling, WV $1.25 USD
Antigo, Wi $1.25 USD
Athens, OH $1.85 USD
Elmira , NY $1.75 USD
Fort, Tx $1.99 USD
Islip $1 USD
Lock Haven Pa. $1.75 USD
Mt. Vernon, IL. $1.5 USD
Pontiac,MI $1 USD
Shanghai $1.57 USD
Sunnyvale $1.52 USD
Tamaqua $1.75 USD
Texarkana,Ar $1.5 USD
Waterford, MI $1.55 USD
Wenona, IL $1 USD
Wheeling, WV $1.25 USD
Lowest taxes
One of the main factor in looking for the least expensive place to live is tax. Strangely, the US tax laws are all over the place. There are a few places where you can get away with comparatively paying very little tax.It’s very hard to sort all the taxes yourself and work out exactly what state has the lowest overall taxes. In this case, we can look at Tax Burden.
Tax Burden is a measure of the taxes paid in a state relative to another constant factor, such as total personal income.Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming do not tax personal income.
Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon, do not collect sales taxes.
Now you know at least one reason why New Hampshire has “Live FREE or Die” on it’s license plate!!
Conclusion:
There are so many more factors that could have been looked at, but hopeully you saw this as a useful overview. Once you establish what you need to relocate for (work, retirement, frugality etc etc) you can easily start gathering data and work out the state with lowest cost of living for your personal circumstances.Just remember living in a frugal way can be achieved in any state if you are determined and able to keep the right frame of mind.
If you think I have mis-interperated or overlooked anything important, please let me know.
