10 Affordable U.S. Small Towns With a Great Quality of Life
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Angela Mae
5 min read
Small towns scattered throughout the U.S. have a lot to offer when it comes to livability and affordability. For many people, especially those who’ve spent much of their lives in major metropolitan areas, smaller towns have a certain allure to them that makes them hard to resist.
On top of that, these places tend to have a lower cost of living than bigger cities. And considering how expensive many parts of the country are right now, this alone might be enough to consider moving to a smaller — and cheaper — location.
GOBankingRates has identified the top 10 most affordable small towns in the U.S. where you can still enjoy a high quality of life. If you’re thinking about making the move, here are the best options based on population, total annual cost of living, livability index, the median home value in May 2023 and more.
Iron Mountain, Michigan
Population: 7,516
Livability index: 74
Median home value: $125,935
Total annual cost: $21,474
Founded in 1879, Iron Mountain is home to the one of the world’s greatest iron mines, Chapin Mine. Groceries, transportation and miscellaneous expenses are below the average cost of living index. The annual grocery cost in Iron Mountain is $4,681, while the annual transportation cost is $4,557.
Located on the Chickasawhay River, Leakesville is a small town where everything from groceries to healthcare to utilities costs either less than or about equal to the national average. The annual cost of groceries is $4,943 there, while the annual health cost is $5,632.
Whitestown, Indiana
Population: 9,529
Livability index: 72
Median home value: $363,865
Total annual cost: $20,855
Located just over 20 miles from downtown Indianapolis, Whitestown offers a quiet lifestyle but is close enough to the big city to meet all of your needs. Groceries cost $5,149 a year, while transportation costs about $5,046 annually.
Vineyard, Utah
Population: 11,579
Livability index: 72
Median home value: $582,703
Total annual cost: $20,635
One of Utah’s fastest growing towns, Vineyard still boasts an affordable lifestyle and small-town charm. Transportation, utilities and grocery costs are all well below the national average. Utilities, for example, cost $3,991 a year, while groceries run you about $4,965 annually.
Rutland, Vermont
Population: 15,934
Livability index: 80
Median home value: $222,834
Total annual cost: $22,114
Home to the Green Mountain National Forest, Rutland offers a superb amount of outdoor recreational activities and events. The town is also affordable, especially when it comes to transportation costs, which run you at about $3,597 a year. Though slightly higher than the national average, groceries are also affordable at $5,538 a year.
Taos, New Mexico
Population: 6,524
Livability index: 68
Median home value: $435,063
Total annual cost: $19,432
With a rich history and culture, Taos offers a great quality of life at a lower price point than most other towns in the country. Healthcare, grocery, transportation and miscellaneous costs are all lower here than what you’d find elsewhere. The annual cost of health is $4,607 in Taos, while groceries are $5,212 a year.
Cave Springs, Arkansas
Population: 5,224
Livability index: 72
Median home value: $484,080
Total annual cost: $20,124
While homes are more expensive in Cave Springs than in many other parts of the state, the overall low cost of living and high livability index might very well make up for that. Groceries cost $5,312 a year, while annual transportation costs only $4,926. At $5,010 annually, even healthcare is less expensive in Cave Springs.
Cortland, New York
Population: 17,577
Livability index: 78
Median home value: $177,311
Total annual cost: $20,619
Located near the center of the state, Cortland offers a small town charm with affordable prices. Aside from healthcare, which has a cost of living index of 116.5, nearly everything else in the town is cheaper than the national average. The annual cost of transportation, for example, is $3,858. Groceries each year go for $5,180.
Branson, Missouri
Population: 12,579
Livability index: 74
Median home value: $294,206
Total annual cost: $19,491
With plenty to do, a high livability index and low overall cost of living, Branson ranks high on this list — and for good reason. In Branson, people spend $5,049 annually on groceries, $4,151 on utilities and $5,605 on healthcare costs.
New Ulm, Montana
Population: 14,052
Livability index: 82
Median home value: $212,754
Total annual cost: $18,124
New Ulm offers all four seasons and plenty of indoor and outdoor activities for individuals and families. It’s also ranked first on this list because of its affordable prices and high livability score. In this town, people tend to spend $3,318 a year on transportation, $5,106 on groceries, and $4,536 on health costs.
To find affordable U.S. small towns with a great quality of life, GOBankingRates gathered a list of popular towns in the US. The popular small towns were sourced from Realtor.com: “The 10 Most Affordable Small Towns Where You’d Actually Like to Live 2023 Edition”, U.S. News: “25 Popular Small Towns to Live in the US” and ArchitecturalDigest: “Most Beautiful Small Towns in America”. With the list of small towns, GOBankingRates filtered to only show towns with a population more than 1,000 and under 20,000. Factors were found for each city, including: [1] Cost of living over expenditure categories sourced from Sperlings BestPlaces, [2] Livability index sourced from AreaVibes and [3] the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. For each cost of living index, the average expenditure cost sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey was multiplied to get an average annual expenditure cost. The livability index and the total annual expenditure costs were scored to find cities that are both cheap and have a high quality of life. The total score was ranked and the cities were sorted to show the highest quality of life and cheap living costs. All data is up-to-date as of July 7th, 2023.