Cheapest Metros
Metropolitan areas in the US ranked by affordability.
Most affordable metro areas in the United States
InMyArea.com has ranked the 0 metro areas of the United States (urban areas with a population of 50,000 or more) by most affordable to live in. Our methodology for ranking uses data covering income, jobs, unemployment, mortgages, real estate taxes, insurance, utilities, home costs and the current housing and rental market trends. An affordable area is defined as one with:
- More affordable homes in terms of home value to annual income
- High paying jobs and low unemployment
- Low mortgage payments as a percentage of monthly income
- Low cost of rent as a percentage of income
- Low property taxes, home insurance, utilities and other home costs as a percentage of income
- Low cost of food, transportation, child care and healthcare relative to income
For the sake of transparency, we rank each area individually for 75 characteristics, awarding points to each metro based on our definition of affordability. Metros with the highest number of points are ranked first. The top one-third, most affordable areas to live are shown with a green color on the map. Yellow represents the middle-tier with average affordability. Red is for the least affordable metro areas.
Click here to use your device's location to see the nearest metro on the map.
Affordability by Metro
| Metro | Household Income [1] | Monthly Rent and Percent of Income [2] | Monthly Homeowner Cost and Percent of Income [3] | Annual Property Taxes [4] | Unemployment [5] |
|---|
Source: Census Bureau, ACS 1-year Estimates; MIT, Living Wage; Zillow.
Last Updated: September 12, 2016
1. Household Income - Median household income.
2. Monthly Rent - Median gross rent of occupied units paying rent.
3. Monthly Homeowner Cost - Sum of payment for mortgages, real estate taxes, various insurances, utilities, fuels, mobile home costs, and condominium fees.
4. Annual Taxes - Taxes on homes with a mortgage.
5. Unemployment - Percent of populatin 16 years and over unemployed in the civilian labor force.
Do you live in one of the most or least affordable areas? We'd love to talk to you about how affordable your area is.