NerdWallet ranked the nation’s least expensive cities. The index scores listed can be compared to the national average score of 100. A full fifth of the list is comprised of Texan cities — everything’s bigger, and cheaper, in Texas. Southern states also made an appearance, with Tennessee, Oklahoma, Georgia, Alabama and Arkansas together taking 26 spots on the list.
For more information, check out our Cost of Living Calculator.
Rank | State | City | Cost of living index |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Texas | Harlingen, TX | 81.8 |
2 | Texas | McAllen, TX | 85.4 |
3 | Oklahoma | Norman, OK | 85.6 |
4 | Oklahoma | Ardmore, OK | 85.9 |
5 | Tennessee | Memphis, TN | 86.0 |
6 | Arkansas | Fayetteville, AR | 86.1 |
7 | Texas | Wichita Falls, TX | 86.5 |
8 | Oklahoma | Muskogee, OK | 86.9 |
9 | Colorado | Pueblo, CO | 87.1 |
10 | Indiana | New Albany-Clark-Floyd County, IN | 87.6 |
11 | Ohio | Ashland, OH | 87.6 |
12 | Texas | San Marcos, TX | 87.7 |
13 | Illinois | Springfield, IL | 87.8 |
14 | Utah | Cedar City, UT | 87.9 |
15 | Arkansas | Conway, AR | 88.0 |
16 | Idaho | Idaho Falls, ID | 88.0 |
17 | Ohio | Youngstown-Warren, OH | 88.2 |
18 | Texas | Sherman-Denison, TX | 88.3 |
19 | Texas | San Antonio, TX | 88.5 |
20 | Texas | Temple, TX | 88.5 |
21 | Alabama | Birmingham, AL | 88.5 |
22 | North Carolina | Winston-Salem, NC | 88.5 |
23 | Michigan | Kalamazoo, MI | 88.8 |
24 | Arkansas | Jonesboro, AR | 88.8 |
25 | Tennessee | Nashville-Franklin, TN | 88.9 |
26 | Mississippi | Tupelo, MS | 89.0 |
27 | Oklahoma | Pryor Creek, OK | 89.0 |
28 | Virginia | Martinsville-Henry County, VA | 89.1 |
29 | Texas | Lubbock, TX | 89.2 |
30 | Illinois | Decatur, IL | 89.2 |
31 | Oklahoma | Tulsa, OK | 89.2 |
32 | Tennessee | Knoxville, TN | 89.3 |
33 | South Carolina | Anderson, SC | 89.4 |
34 | Kentucky | Covington, KY | 89.4 |
35 | Indiana | Muncie, IN | 89.6 |
36 | Nebraska | Omaha, NE | 89.6 |
37 | Ohio | Columbus, OH | 89.7 |
38 | Texas | San Angelo, TX | 89.8 |
39 | Indiana | Indianapolis-Morgan County, IN | 89.8 |
40 | Missouri | Joplin, MO | 89.8 |
41 | Tennessee | Cookeville, TN | 89.9 |
42 | Missouri | Springfield, MO | 90.0 |
43 | Alabama | Dothan, AL | 90.0 |
44 | Texas | Brazoria County, TX | 90.0 |
45 | Kansas | Salina, KS | 90.2 |
46 | Oklahoma | Ponca City, OK | 90.2 |
47 | Tennessee | Murfreesboro-Smyrna, TN | 90.2 |
48 | Kentucky | Lexington, KY | 90.3 |
49 | Iowa | Des Moines, IA | 90.3 |
50 | South Carolina | Sumter, SC | 90.5 |
51 | Georgia | Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC | 90.6 |
52 | Oklahoma | Stillwater, OK | 90.7 |
53 | North Carolina | Thomasville-Lexington, NC | 90.7 |
54 | Illinois | Galesburg, IL | 90.8 |
55 | Kansas | Hays, KS | 90.8 |
56 | North Carolina | Raleigh, NC | 90.8 |
57 | Tennessee | Morristown, TN | 90.8 |
58 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma City, OK | 90.8 |
59 | New Mexico | Carlsbad, NM | 90.8 |
60 | Kentucky | Louisville, KY | 90.8 |
61 | Alabama | Decatur-Hartselle, AL | 90.9 |
62 | Iowa | Burlington, IA | 90.9 |
63 | Indiana | Richmond, IN | 91.0 |
64 | Louisiana | Hammond, LA | 91.0 |
65 | Georgia | Douglas, GA | 91.0 |
66 | Georgia | Savannah, GA | 91.0 |
67 | Wisconsin | Eau Claire, WI | 91.0 |
68 | Indiana | South Bend, IN | 91.1 |
69 | Georgia | Dalton, GA | 91.1 |
70 | Texas | Seguin, TX | 91.2 |
71 | Kansas | Hutchinson, KS | 91.3 |
72 | Texas | Brownsville, TX | 91.3 |
73 | Texas | Bryan-College Station, TX | 91.3 |
74 | Texas | Athens-Henderson County, TX | 91.3 |
75 | Kentucky | Paducah, KY | 91.3 |
76 | Texas | Fort Worth, TX | 91.4 |
77 | Texas | Paris, TX | 91.4 |
78 | Virginia | Danville City, VA | 91.4 |
79 | Kansas | Wichita, KS | 91.4 |
80 | Virginia | Roanoke, VA | 91.5 |
81 | Indiana | Elkhart-Goshen, IN | 91.5 |
82 | Missouri | St. Louis, MO-IL | 91.6 |
83 | Texas | Waco, TX | 91.6 |
84 | Indiana | Fort Wayne-Allen County, IN | 91.6 |
85 | Georgia | Albany, GA | 91.7 |
86 | North Carolina | Gastonia, NC | 91.8 |
87 | West Virginia | Martinsburg-Berkeley County, WV | 91.9 |
88 | Ohio | Cincinnati, OH | 91.9 |
89 | Louisiana | Baton Rouge, LA | 91.9 |
90 | Arizona | Bullhead City, AZ | 91.9 |
91 | Texas | Conroe, TX | 92.0 |
92 | Texas | Corpus Christi, TX | 92.0 |
93 | Texas | Midland, TX | 92.0 |
94 | Idaho | Twin Falls, ID | 92.1 |
95 | Iowa | Cedar Rapids, IA | 92.1 |
96 | Utah | St. George, UT | 92.1 |
97 | Alabama | Florence, AL | 92.1 |
98 | Nevada | Reno-Sparks, NV | 92.3 |
99 | Texas | Denton, TX | 92.4 |
100 | Florida | Palm Coast-Flagler County, FL | 92.4 |
Data came from the 2012 Annual Report in ACCRA’s Cost of Living index.
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