Cheapest States to Live in the US

All 52 US states ranked by cost of living index from lowest to highest. A score below 100 means cheaper than the national average.

#	State	Cost Index	Median Income	Population	vs. Average
1	Puerto Rico	69.8	$23,311	1,902,027	-30.2%
2	Arkansas	70.3	$52,138	2,129,612	-29.8%
3	Mississippi	70.8	$49,929	1,659,119	-29.2%
4	Oklahoma	71.1	$56,461	3,185,943	-28.9%
5	Iowa	71.1	$67,947	2,610,083	-28.9%
6	Kansas	71.6	$63,989	2,482,740	-28.5%
7	Nebraska	72.2	$65,895	1,583,902	-27.8%
8	West Virginia	73.4	$54,014	787,860	-26.6%
9	Alabama	74.1	$57,952	3,378,833	-25.9%
10	Louisiana	74.2	$54,685	2,995,707	-25.8%
11	North Dakota	74.3	$72,691	624,606	-25.7%
12	South Dakota	74.5	$64,652	711,806	-25.5%
13	Missouri	74.6	$61,047	4,394,421	-25.4%
14	Ohio	77.6	$71,849	8,332,600	-22.4%
15	Michigan	78.0	$65,978	5,567,613	-22.0%
16	Indiana	78.2	$69,276	4,833,532	-21.8%
17	Kentucky	78.2	$66,260	2,688,626	-21.8%
18	Wisconsin	79.3	$72,635	4,417,335	-20.8%
19	Illinois	79.8	$75,153	11,229,592	-20.3%
20	Tennessee	80.4	$62,905	4,495,827	-19.6%
21	South Carolina	81.9	$58,750	2,611,112	-18.1%
22	Minnesota	82.2	$74,079	4,774,904	-17.8%
23	Georgia	82.3	$61,062	5,377,666	-17.7%
24	Pennsylvania	83.0	$73,380	7,334,800	-17.0%
25	North Carolina	84.5	$64,537	6,600,402	-15.5%
26	New Mexico	86.2	$67,503	1,816,508	-13.8%
27	Maine	86.5	$64,613	665,716	-13.5%
28	Idaho	86.9	$65,190	1,381,127	-13.1%
29	Texas	87.5	$72,704	22,904,848	-12.5%
30	Montana	88.5	$65,734	779,980	-11.5%
31	Arizona	89.0	$62,280	6,799,438	-11.0%
32	Alaska	90.1	$67,815	718,025	-9.9%
33	Wyoming	90.2	$80,049	456,123	-9.8%
34	Vermont	91.8	$72,974	276,527	-8.2%
35	New Hampshire	101.7	$79,671	659,280	+1.7%
36	Virginia	104.3	$88,128	5,988,897	+4.3%
37	Delaware	105.0	$85,962	435,168	+5.0%
38	Oregon	106.5	$76,182	3,460,609	+6.5%
39	Utah	107.6	$88,895	3,201,961	+7.6%
40	Nevada	109.4	$81,841	3,008,205	+9.4%
41	Florida	110.2	$76,018	16,945,872	+10.2%
42	Rhode Island	110.5	$92,962	678,634	+10.5%
43	New York	111.3	$96,982	16,326,804	+11.3%
44	Colorado	114.1	$88,558	5,049,752	+14.1%
45	Maryland	119.1	$108,228	5,191,468	+19.1%
46	Washington	119.2	$90,795	6,461,293	+19.2%
47	Connecticut	125.2	$123,065	2,234,130	+25.2%
48	New Jersey	127.7	$115,589	6,078,332	+27.7%
49	Massachusetts	129.3	$105,630	4,993,470	+29.3%
50	California	143.8	$97,882	37,459,622	+43.8%
51	District of Columbia	155.4	$106,287	672,079	+55.4%
52	Hawaii	157.3	$94,535	1,407,113	+57.3%

About This Ranking

The cost of living index measures how expensive it is to live in each state compared to the national average (100). A state with an index of 85 is 15% cheaper than average, while a state at 115 is 15% more expensive.

Our index factors in housing costs (Zillow Home Value Index), rental prices (HUD Fair Market Rents), and regional price parities from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Income data comes from the US Census American Community Survey.

See also: Cheapest Cities · Most Expensive States · Best Affordable Cities