You’ve heard of the lists of the safest places to live, the most expensive places to live, but what about the places where the cost living is the most affordable?
A ranking from Niche looked at the cities in each state where the cost of living was lowest for 2023.
The list looked at things like a location’s housing, food, fuel costs and the median tax rates “in an attempt to measure the overall affordability and relative cost of living of an area.”
Using data from the U.S. Census, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Tax Foundation, the group analyzed median rent prices, median home values, monthly housing cost to income ratios and more.
Ultimately, the ranking dubbed White Hall, Illinois, the no. 1 place with the lowest cost of living in the state. The city is located between Springfield and St. Louis.
Other cities to make the top five were Johnston City, Eldorado, Bridgeport and Jonesboro, all of which are located in the southern half of the state.
Here’s the top 50:
- 50. Pinckneyville
- 49. Carmi
- 48. Creve Coeur
- 47. Gilman
- 46. Kewanee
- 45. Havana
- 44. Harristown
- 43. Percy
- 42. Hartford
- 41. Abingdon
- 40. Benld
- 39. Hillsboro
- 38. Gillespie
- 37. Mitchell
- 36. Salem
- 35. Long Creek
- 34. Hoopeston
- 33. Paris
- 32. Savanna
- 31. Newton
- 30. Flora
- 29. Mount Carmel
- 28. Fairfield
- 27. Mount Sterling
- 26. Shelbyville
- 25. Westville
- 24. Beardstown
- 23. Litchfield
- 22. Benton
- 21. West Frankfort
- 20. Onarga
- 19. Pana
- 18. Carthage
- 17. Georgetown
- 16. Centrak City
- 15. Roodhouse
- 14. Monmouth
- 13. Chester
- 12. McLeansboro
- 11. Du Quoin
- 10. Olney
- 9. Tilton
- 8. Bushnell
- 7. Christopher
- 6. Nokomis
- 5. Jonesboro
- 4. Bridgeport (Not the Chicago neighborhood)
- 3. Eldorado
- 2. Johnston City
- 1. White Hall
***Courtesy of NBC Chicago***
