The Five Most Affordable U.S. Cities

Personal finance website Student Loan Hero studied 253 urban areas across the nation to identify the most affordable cities. Metrics included median incomes, housing costs, unemployment rates, population, and cost of living.

Tupelo, Mississippi was ranked number one on the website's list. Tupelo's cost of living index was 20.8 percent below the national average with a population of 38,842. The median household income was $43,153, less than the U.S. median, $55,322. The median home listing price was also below the U.S. median, $259,900, at $169,900. Two cities in Texas made the list, Harlingen and McAllen, with housing costs between 32.4 and 39.7 percent lower than the national average, per CNBC.

As the study points out, the cheapest cities to live in may have the lowest average of combined expenses, but that doesn't mean everything there is cheap, like transportation or groceries. Jobs in these metro areas may be scarce and pay less, too: "Low-income levels can make it hard for residents to get by, and the cheapest cities to live in all have above-average poverty rates."

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