Yahoo Finance Cheapest Places To Live in the 10 Most Expensive States
The cost of living throughout the United States is on the rise. This affects Americans everywhere, but people who live in notoriously expensive states are hit particularly hard by it. After all, rising costs make it harder to afford things like housing, utilities, groceries, gas and other basic necessities. Fortunately, even the most expensive states still have inexpensive cities for people to live in.
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GOBankingRates recently conducted a study using data from Zillow, Sperling’s Best Places, the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine the cheapest cities in the most expensive states. These data include things like the May 2023 home value, the overall cost of living index and the average annual expenditure.
Here are the 10 most expensive states to live in and the most affordable cities in each one. The cities are ranked from cheapest to most expensive. All data is accurate as of June 29, 2023.
Hawaii
As of May 2023, Hawaii’s average home value was $964,786. The typical annual expenditure in the state is $119,801. The overall cost of living index is 179.0.
Here’s what the typical values of these statistics are in the three cheapest cities in the state.
1. Pahoa
May 2023 Home Value: $290,465
Overall Cost of Living Index: 109.7
Annual Expenditures: $73,420
2. Keaau
May 2023 Home Value: $451,621
Overall Cost of Living Index: 121.6
Annual Expenditures: $81,384
3. Hilo
May 2023 Home Value: $503,447
Overall Cost of Living Index: 125.9
Annual Expenditures: $84,262
Massachusetts
The typical home value in Massachusetts in May 2023 was $599,969. Meanwhile, the annual expenditure is $99,321, on average. The cost of living index is 148.4.
Here are the results for the cheapest cities in Massachusetts.
1. North Adams
May 2023 Home Value: $224,122
Overall Cost of Living Index: 84
Annual Expenditures: $56,220
2. Greenfield
May 2023 Home Value: $300,920
Overall Cost of Living Index: 86.7
Annual Expenditures: $58,027
3. Pittsfield
May 2023 Home Value: $275,043
Overall Cost of Living Index: 88.5
Annual Expenditures: $59,231
See: More Americans Can Afford To Buy a Home in These 20 Cities
California
California has an overall cost of living index of 134.5. The typical home value in May 2023 was $754,949, while the average annual expenditure is $90,018.
Here’s what you can expect in The Golden State’s cheapest cities.
1. Taft
May 2023 Home Value: $195,425
Overall Cost of Living Index: 86.9
Annual Expenditures: $58,160
2. Corcoran
May 2023 Home Value: $241,441
Overall Cost of Living Index: 87.7
Annual Expenditures: $58,696
3. Twentynine Palms
May 2023 Home Value: $264,458
Overall Cost of Living Index: 88.1
Annual Expenditures: $58,964
New York
The Empire State’s overall cost of living index is also well above the national average at 125.1. The typical annual expenditure is $83,727, while the May 2023 home value was $411,285. This is lower than what you might find in other states, but it’s still on the expensive side.
Some locations in New York, however, are still very reasonably priced. Here are the cheapest ones to check out.
1. Jamestown
May 2023 Home Value: $107,791
Overall Cost of Living Index: 67
Annual Expenditures: $44,842
2. Dunkirk
May 2023 Home Value: $116,963
Overall Cost of Living Index: 68.7
Annual Expenditures: $45,980
3. Ogdensburg
May 2023 Home Value: $101,811
Overall Cost of Living Index: 69.8
Annual Expenditures: $46,716
Alaska
Alaska’s home value in May stood at $363,593, on average. The state’s cost of living was 124.4, and the overall annual expenditure is $83,258. Here are the cheapest cities in the state where you can still get a lot for your money.
1. Kenai
May 2023 Home Value: $307,629
Overall Cost of Living Index: 99.9
Annual Expenditures: $66,861
2. Fairbanks
May 2023 Home Value: $295,565
Overall Cost of Living Index: 102
Annual Expenditures: $68,267
3. Soldotna
May 2023 Home Value: $333,923
Overall Cost of Living Index: 103.2
Annual Expenditures: $69,070
Maryland
In Maryland, the average home value in May of this year was $410,731. Meanwhile, the typical annual expenditure is $79,979. The overall cost of living is 119.5.
Despite the higher cost of living, the Free State — or the Old Line State, as some fondly call it — still has several more affordable cities. Here are the cheapest ones.
1. Cumberland
May 2023 Home Value: $136,245
Overall Cost of Living Index: 72.9
Annual Expenditures: $48,791
2. Frostburg
May 2023 Home Value: $154,709
Overall Cost of Living Index: 74.6
Annual Expenditures: $49,928
3. Princess Anne
May 2023 Home Value: $193,831
Overall Cost of Living Index: 78.7
Annual Expenditures: $52,672
Washington
Located in the Pacific Northwest, Washington State’s typical home value in May was $594,948. The average annual expenditure is $77,034, and the cost of living index is 115.1.
While major metropolitan areas like Seattle are on the expensive side, the Evergreen State does boast a few affordable cities.
1. Othello
May 2023 Home Value: $321,666
Overall Cost of Living Index: 84.4
Annual Expenditures: $56,487
2. Ephrata
May 2023 Home Value: $312,588
Overall Cost of Living Index: 84.7
Annual Expenditures: $56,688
3. Aberdeen
May 2023 Home Value: $256,933
Overall Cost of Living Index: 85.2
Annual Expenditures: $57,023
Oregon
Next up is Oregon, also located in the Pacific Northwest. This state’s typical annual expenditure is $77,034, while the May 2023 home value is $506,336. The overall cost of living index is 115.1.
These are the three cheapest cities in Oregon.
1. Ontario
May 2023 Home Value: $290,818
Overall Cost of Living Index: 81
Annual Expenditures: $54,212
2. Klamath Falls
May 2023 Home Value: $289,163
Overall Cost of Living Index: 85.8
Annual Expenditures: $57,424
3. Milton-Freewater
May 2023 Home Value: $289,861
Overall Cost of Living Index: 86.8
Annual Expenditures: $58,094
New Hampshire
The overall cost of living in New Hampshire is 115.0. People spend, on average, $76,967 a year in this state. The May 2023 home value averages out at $465,527.
This New England state also offers several affordable locations to people already living in the state or thinking about moving there. These are the top three cheapest cities.
1. Berlin
May 2023 Home Value: $171,690
Overall Cost of Living Index: 70.6
Annual Expenditures: $47,251
2. Claremont
May 2023 Home Value: $237,729
Overall Cost of Living Index: 79.9
Annual Expenditures: $53,475
3. Keene
May 2023 Home Value: $308,471
Overall Cost of Living Index: 86.3
Annual Expenditures: $57,759
Vermont
Vermont’s overall cost of living index is 114.9, while the annual expenditure is $76,900. Along with this, the typical home value in May of this year was $347,442.
But if you’re looking for a more affordable city in Vermont, here are the cheapest ones.
1. St. Johnsbury
May 2023 Home Value: $204,664
Overall Cost of Living Index: 83.7
Annual Expenditures: $56,019
2. Bennington
May 2023 Home Value: $219,936
Overall Cost of Living Index: 84.3
Annual Expenditures: $56,420
3. Springfield
May 2023 Home Value: $196,101
Overall Cost of Living Index: 85.3
Annual Expenditures: $57,090
More From GOBankingRates
Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates first identified the 10 most expensive states to live in by sourcing an overall cost of living index from the Missouri Economic and Research Center’s 2023 first-quarter data. With these 10 states identified, GOBankingRates found the 15 cheapest cities within each state under the following parameters: being one of the 5,000 largest housing markets in the U.S. (7,000 for Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire and Vermont) and have a May 2023 home value that is less than the state average, all sourced from Zillow’s May 2023 data. From there GOBankingRates found each qualifying city’s overall cost of living index as sourced from Sperling’s Best Places, which was then factored out by the 2021 Consumer Expenditure Survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to find each city’s (1) annual expenditures. The three cheapest cities in terms of factor (1) were highlighted as the cheapest places to live in the most expensive cities. All data was collected and is up to date as of June 29, 2023.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Cheapest Places To Live in the 10 Most Expensive States
