In search of affordability: Where to find a lower cost of living

PeopleImages // Shutterstock

In search of affordability: Where to find a lower cost of living

If there’s one issue that every single American is dealing with these days, it’s that costs are going up. Food, shelter, energy — the bills just keep getting bigger, and the affordability of daily life is being strained.

But here’s some surprising math you might not be aware of: Affordability can be extremely different depending on where you live.

That means you can completely change your budget outlook by picking up stakes and finding somewhere that’s a better fit for your finances.

“As costs have risen in recent years, this has become a big topic,” says Andrew Fincher, a planner with VLP Financial Advisors in Vienna, Virginia.

It’s more common than you might think. In fact, in a February 2026 survey commissioned by Current, a consumer fintech banking platform, and conducted by Talker Research, 38% of respondents said they moved because where they were living had become too expensive. Among Gen Zers, that figure rises even higher, to an eye-popping 51%. 

In addition, over half of respondents didn’t believe they’d ever be able to live in their “ideal” city (52%) or state (48%), with Gen Z again being the most pessimistic, with 64% saying they don’t think they will be able to afford their ideal city.

To be sure, a move is not something to be taken lightly: it involves a lot of different factors, social as well as economic, from job status to friends to family.

But if you’re looking for something to dramatically change your cost-of-living equation — and even your eventual retirement prospects — a big move is certainly one way to pull that off.

Do your due diligence

The first step in getting it right is to do your research. The survey provides a critical piece of information: The states reported as being most affordable by their own residents.

The affordability “winners” are Mississippi, at 62%; Alabama, at 61%; and Oklahoma, at 60%. Those are followed closely by Iowa, at 57%, with Missouri, South Dakota, and Texas all tied at 56%.

Of course, just as useful is the information about which states are not affordable. On that end of the spectrum, you find Hawai’i, at 12%; Alaska and Colorado, at 14%, and Connecticut, at 16%.

But that isn’t the only statistic to consider when weighing whether to pack up and go. Some other factors that could influence such a big life decision:

Tax rates 
If state income taxes are a major concern for you, good news — there are nine states that don’t have them at all, including major population centers like Texas and Florida, which came in at 56% and 32% of residents, respectively, calling those states “affordable” in the study.

Of course, that’s only one piece of the total tax hit: States have to fund their operations somehow, so you would be wise to look into issues like sales and property taxes as well. The areas with the stiffest property taxes in the nation are New Jersey, Illinois, and Connecticut, while the lowest are Hawai’i, Alabama, and Colorado.

Your stage of life
At certain life moments, moving is a much more challenging operation. If your kids are settled in a good school with a rich network of friends, you might not want to disrupt that. Or if a job you love requires you to be on-site at a particular office, you likely don’t want to give that up, especially in this turbulent economy.

But at other life stages, when you have more flexibility, a move can make a lot of sense. “Is your life at a point where it’s going to change anyway?” asks Nick Weisert, a Denver financial planner. “Are you selling a house, or your kids no longer live with you, or are you close to retirement?”

Housing costs
The biggest chunk of our paychecks typically goes toward shelter, whether we’re buying or renting. Financial planners often suggest that housing costs not exceed 30% of income, although many of us are already well beyond that.

When real estate Zillow crunched the numbers to find which cities across the nation had the largest share of affordable listings, it came up with this top five: Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Buffalo, Detroit, and Indianapolis.

A final note: While state affordability is definitely a factor to consider, remember that some money-saving actions can be taken no matter where you live.

That could include shifting savings — which could be earning you nothing — into higher-earning accounts. Increasing your credit score will also alter what you pay on everything from car notes to personal loans to mortgages. If your score needs a boost, you may want to consider using a secured charge card. You’ll want to look for one that reports to the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and has a low or no required minimum deposit.

Combining those two strategies — maximizing your finances right where you are, while also looking at lower-cost possibilities around the country — can be a powerful step in making life more affordable.

Advises Weisert: “Generally, a move is a good idea if it frees up 20% or more of your cash flow, or pulls retirement up by 2-3 years — and leads to a meaningful improvement in quality of life.”

Wondering where your ideal state fell on the “affordability” survey? Here is the full list!

1. Hawai’i — 12%
2. Alaska, Colorado — 14%
3. Connecticut — 16%
4. Rhode Island — 17%
5. New Jersey — 21%
6. Oregon, Massachusetts — 23%
7. Maine, Nevada, Vermont — 24%
8. California, Illinois, New York — 27%
9. New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Utah — 28%
10. Washington — 30%
11. Maryland — 31%
12. Florida — 32%
13. Montana — 37%
14. Minnesota — 38%
15. North Carolina — 39%
16. New Mexico — 40%
17. Arizona — 41%
18. Virginia — 42%
19. Georgia, Michigan — 43%
20. West Virginia, Wisconsin — 44%
21. Idaho — 45%
22. Indiana, Louisiana — 49%
23. Delaware, Wyoming — 50%
24. Nebraska — 51%
25. Tennessee — 52%
26. Kansas, Kentucky — 53%
27. Arkansas, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina — 54%
28. Missouri, South Dakota, Texas — 56%
29. Iowa — 57%
30. Oklahoma — 60%
31. Alabama — 61%
32. Mississippi — 62%

Research methodology

Talker Research surveyed 5,000 Americans, state by state (100 in each state), who plan to file taxes, split evenly by generation (1,250 Gen Zers, 1,250 millennials, 1,250 Gen Xers, 1,250 baby boomers), who have access to the internet. The survey was commissioned by Current and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Dec. 17, 2025, and Jan. 5, 2026.

This story was produced by Current and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.