Flickr Creative Commons: ornello_pics
What is the cost of living where you live? You might be surprised at how your city compares to others across the USA.
Below are the costliest and cheapest places to live in the USA based off the US Census table: Cost of Living Index—Selected Urban Areas, Annual Average: 2010. The table compares cost of living in cities across the USA with the national average.
The cost of living for each city is ranked based on the cost of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, healthcare, and miscellaneous goods. The national average of these costs are indexed at 100%. Each city with a composite index over 100 is more expensive to live in than the national average. Each city with a composite index under 100 is cheaper to live in than the national average.
The most expensive city in the USA: Manhattan, NY
Flickr Creative Commons: Daran Kandasamy
Indexed at 216.7, Manhattan has the highest cost of living in the United States. The prime real estate is to blame for such a high index. In this city, studio apartments start out at around $1500 a month, and if you want an actual bedroom or two, you have to be willing to shell out at least three to four thousand dollars a month!
Here are the top five most expensive cities with their index:
1. Manhattan, NY – 216.7
2. Brooklyn, NY – 181.7
3. Honolulu, HI – 165.7
4. San Francisco, CA – 164.0
5. Queens, NY – 159.0
Did you notice that 3 out of 5 of these cities are in New York?
Now where are the cheapest cities in the United States?
The most affordable city in the USA: Harlingen, TX
Flickr Creative Commons: Vince Smith
With an index of 82.8, the city with the lowest cost of living in the USA is Harlingen, TX. Harlingen is a city on the very southern tip of the state of Texas, bordering Mexico near South Padre Island. With a population of over 65,000, it is a very affordable city to live in.
Here are the five cheapest cities in the United States with their index.
1. Harlingen, TX – 82.8
2. Pryor Creek, OK – 84.5
3. McAllen, TX – 85.0
4. Pueblo, CO – 85.6
5. Cookeville, TN 85.7
Manhattan, NY has a cost of living that is more than double the national average while Harlingen TX has a cost of living that is only 82.8% of the national average. It seems there is a correlation between the cost of living and the height of the skyline!
How does your city compare? Find out here!
All photos used under this license.
