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50 Most Affordable Big US Cities To Live In

April 03, 2025 — 08:01 am EDT

Written by T. Woods for GOBankingRates->

Inflation has spurred high cost of living across America, and added tariffs and possible trade wars portend even higher prices as well as a possible bear market on Wall Street. This all has many Americans worried about costs — especially if they live in big cities.

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Recently, GOBankingRates collated the cost of living for American cities with populations over 100,000, researching such statistics as home values and income levels within those cities. Within that matrix, GOBankingRates selected the 50 most affordable cities.

Curious which large American cities are the most affordable?

Key Findings

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Discover More: Here’s the Minimum Salary Required To Be Considered Upper Class in 2025

1. Detroit

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2. Akron, Ohio

3. Birmingham, Alabama

Montgomery, Alabama, USA downtown skyline at night.

4. Montgomery, Alabama

5. Jackson, Mississippi

6. Columbus, Georgia

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Memphis, Tennessee, USA downtown skyline at dusk.

7. Memphis, Tennessee

8. Toledo, Ohio

The December supermoon rises above Cleveland Ohio next to the city tallest building.

9. Cleveland

View of Peoria's river front showing downtown Peoria buildings, bridge, the Illinois river, historic paddle boat with blue blue sky and clouds in background.

10. Peoria, Illinois

Abraham Lincoln statue in front of the Illinois State Capital Building in Springfield, Illinois - Image.

11. Springfield, Illinois

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Wichita Falls, Texas, USA - April 23, 2018: Daytime view of the the Wichita Theatre Performing Arts Centre along Indiana Ave in the downtown district.

12. Wichita Falls, Texas

13. Rockford, Illinois

14. Topeka, Kansas

Downtown Dayton skyline with the Miami River and skyline reflections at dusk.

15. Dayton, Ohio

16. Shreveport, Louisiana

This photo was taken of Baltimore, MD while flying a helicopter at an altitude of 1000 feet above ground level and passing the city on June 12, 2017 while on a photo mission from a promotions company for twelve golfing resorts.

17. Baltimore

18. Amarillo, Texas

Downtown St. Louis Beyond the Arch stock photo

19. St. Louis

Evansville is a city in and the county seat of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States.

20. Evansville, Indiana

Waco, United States - November 30, 2013: The Science Building and Carlile Geology Research Center at Baylor University anchor one corner of the campus in Waco, Texas, underscoring the growth of Earth Sciences at the university after the discovery of several mammoths nearby.

21. Waco, Texas

The Hay Street United Methodist Church was built in 1908.

22. Fayetteville, North Carolina

Residential district with townhouses in downtown Buffalo New York USA on a sunny day.

23. Buffalo, New York

South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St.

24. South Bend, Indiana

McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the twenty-second most populous city in Texas.

25. McAllen, Texas

26. Lansing, Michigan

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Mobile, Alabama, USA - February 24, 2014: Almost empty Dauphin street in historic district is ready for Mardi Gras celebrations in the evening.

27. Mobile, Alabama

28. Davenport, Iowa

Lake Side Park, Rose Garden, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Night Shot.

29. Fort Wayne, Indiana

Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in West Texas, United States.

30. Abilene, Texas

31. Kansas City, Kansas

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Beautiful architecture in downtown Indianapolis, INDIANA, along the central canal

32. Indianapolis

rochester new york shutterstock_1034607439

33. Rochester, New York

view of the city of syracuse in upstate new york.

34. Syracuse, New York

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, FHA, insurance, real estate, homebuyers, foreclosure, single-family, home median price, mortgage, down payment

35. Pittsburgh

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska.

36. Beaumont, Texas

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Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA downtown city skyline on Lake Michigan at twilight.

37. Milwaukee

38. Pasadena, Texas

39. El Paso, Texas

Corpus Christi, Texas, USA skyline on the bay.

40. Corpus Christi, Texas

41. Little Rock, Arkansas

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42. Lubbock, Texas

43. Killeen, Texas

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA downtown skyline at twilight.

44. Oklahoma City

From Spruce Street looking north with city hall in the background.

45. Philadelphia

46. Edinburg, Texas

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Louisiana State CapitolLouisiana State Capitol.

47. Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

48. Laredo, Texas

Downtown Cincinnati skyline on the right and the Roebling Suspension Bridge on the left, during dawn, as viewed from Covington, Kentucky.

49. Cincinnati

Brownsville is located at the southernmost tip of Texas, on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

50. Brownsville, Texas

Methodology: GOBankingRates analyzed the cost of living for cities over 100,000 population, as sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, along with data from Sperling’s BestPlaces, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, AreaVibes, Zillow Home Value Index, and the Federal Reserve Economic Data to find the cheapest places to live among big American cities. All data was collected on and is up to date as of March 10, 2025.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 50 Most Affordable Big US Cities To Live In

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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