The City Where People Pay the Lowest Housing Costs in Every State
U.S. home sales skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic – hitting a 15-year high of 6.1 million in 2021. The spike in demand, coupled with declining inventory, have put upward pressure on housing prices. Renters have not been spared, as housing has become one of the key drivers of surging U.S. inflation.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank, a single adult can expect to pay an estimated $11,026 on housing in 2022. This amount varies across the country, however, from state to state and city to city.
Using data from the EPI’s Family Budget Calculator, 24/7 Wall St. identified the metro area with the lowest housing costs in every state. Metro areas are ranked on 2022 estimates of housing and utility costs for a modest studio apartment.
It is important to note that four states – Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont – each have only one metro area. As a result, the metro area in these places ranks as having the lowest housing costs by default only.
Among the metro areas on this list, housing costs for a single adult range from about $5,400 to $15,850, and in most cases they are over $1,000 below housing costs across the state as a whole. Lower housing costs in these places are often a reflection of what residents can afford. The majority of metro areas on this list have a lower median household income than the statewide median. Here is a look at the income needed to be middle class in each state.
Home values also tend to be lower in areas with low housing costs, and in most metro areas on this list, the median home value is below the comparable statewide median. Here is a look at the mortgage rate in America every year since 1972.
Click here to see the metro area with the lowest housing costs in each state
Click here to read our detailed methodology
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