As housing prices skyrocket around the country, more renters and first-time homebuyers are fleeing big cities for places that offer a lower cost of living. Interest rates, rent hikes, inflation, and lagging wages are pushing many Millennials and members of Gen Z to prioritize affordability when planning the next phases of their lives and careers.
Unfortunately, big cities like New York and Los Angeles don’t have a monopoly on priciness. Most places feel expensive these days, but some states are still easier on your wallet than others. To see which U.S. states are the most affordable and which are the least, check out the list below.
SmartAsset recently calculated the income a single adult working full-time would need to earn to live comfortably in each state. To define “comfortably,” the financial technology company leaned on the 50/30/20 rule of budgeting. This guideline dictates that only 50 percent of one’s salary should go to necessities like housing, groceries, and utilities, while 30 percent should be directed to discretionary spending (dining out, entertainment, etc.). That leaves 20 percent for savings. In other words, to “live comfortably” means you’re not just surviving paycheck to paycheck—you’re able to cover all your expenses and still have enough to save and occassionally splurge.
To no one’s surprise, states like California, Hawaii, and New York ranked as some of the most expensive places to call home. Edging them out for the top spot was Massachusetts, which requires an eyebrow-raising salary of $116,022 for a comfortable lifestyle. That means a resident needs to make $55.78 per hour to afford rent, food, and more while having a bit left over in the bank.
On the opposite end of the scale, West Virginia is the most affordable state to call home, requiring an average salary of just $78,790, which works out to around $37.88 an hour. But, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, even that number is too high for most people, as the typical salary for single, full-time workers in the U.S. is roughly $60,000.
For a look at where your state ranks in terms of livability, check out the full list below.
- Massachusetts // $116,022
- Hawaii // $113,693
- California // $113,651
- New York // $111,738
- Washington // $106,496
- Colorado // $103,293
- New Jersey // $103,002
- Maryland // $102,918
- Oregon // $101,088
- Rhode Island // $100,838
- Connecticut // $100,381
- Virginia // $99,965
- New Hampshire // $98,093
- Arizona // $97,344
- Georgia // $96,886
- Alaska // $96,762
- Vermont // $95,763
- Illinois // $95,098
- Delaware // $94,141
- Utah // $93,683
- Nevada // $93,434
- Florida // $93,309
- Maine // $91,686
- Pennsylvania // $91,312
- North Carolina // $89,690
- Minnesota // $89,232
- Idaho // $88,733
- South Carolina // $88,317
- Wyoming // $87,651
- Texas // $87,027
- Tennessee // $86,403
- Indiana // $85,030
- Montana // $84,739
- Kansas // $84,656
- Michigan // $84,365
- Wisconsin // $84,115
- Missouri // $84,032
- Alabama // $83,824
- Nebraska // $83,699
- New Mexico // $83,616
- Iowa // $83,366
- Mississippi // $82,742
- Louisiana // $82,451
- South Dakota // $81,453
- Ohio // $80,704
- Kentucky // $80,704
- North Dakota // $80,538
- Oklahoma // $80,413
- Arkansas // $79,456
- West Virginia // $78,790
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