Cost of living & value
Cheapest large US cities (100k+)
Big-city amenities on the lowest cost-of-living index.
If you want scale without the coastal cost, start here: the cities over 100k residents with the lowest cost-of-living index.
Published by WhereToHQ research. Calculated from committed source data with no generated editorial text.
What the ranking shows
- Jackson, MS leads this list at 73 for cost of living index.
- Across the 15 published entries, cost of living index ranges from 73 to 79. The other columns show tradeoffs that the headline order cannot capture.
| # | City | Cost of living index | 2-bedroom rent | Median home price | Median household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackson, MS147k | 73 | $1,012/mo | $111,700 | $42,071 |
| 2 | Dayton, OH137k | 73 | $929/mo | $100,600 | $45,247 |
| 3 | Toledo, OH267k | 74 | $930/mo | $114,500 | $49,724 |
| 4 | Akron, OH189k | 75 | $966/mo | $122,000 | $48,076 |
| 5 | Topeka, KS126k | 76 | $1,016/mo | $144,200 | $56,956 |
| 6 | South Bend, IN103k | 77 | $1,035/mo | $140,400 | $55,786 |
| 7 | Davenport, IA101k | 77 | $1,009/mo | $166,400 | $66,200 |
| 8 | Wichita, KS398k | 78 | $996/mo | $190,800 | $64,620 |
| 9 | Montgomery, AL197k | 78 | $1,031/mo | $161,900 | $56,811 |
| 10 | Brownsville, TX189k | 78 | $908/mo | $139,900 | $52,130 |
| 11 | Springfield, MO170k | 78 | $972/mo | $177,700 | $49,311 |
| 12 | Evansville, IN116k | 78 | $1,058/mo | $143,100 | $53,387 |
| 13 | Lansing, MI113k | 78 | $1,068/mo | $128,700 | $54,382 |
| 14 | Shreveport, LA181k | 79 | $985/mo | $178,900 | $48,699 |
| 15 | Kansas City, KS155k | 79 | $1,122/mo | $167,400 | $62,401 |
Ranked from public data we track (US Census/ACS, BLS, EIA, FEMA, NOAA, Tax Foundation) and recomputed on every data refresh. Figures are estimates for comparison, not advice; open any city to see all facets.
Candidate rules: 100,000 or more residents. Ranking rule: Cost of living index, lowest first.
WhereToHQ loads at most the 500 largest eligible national candidates, or 300 candidates for a state list, before applying the published rules. Missing values are excluded from a direct sort or hard filter. In a weighted score, an unknown value is neutral rather than favorable.