3 Cheapest Big Cities in America

published 25 May 2017

Small towns don’t have a monopoly on low living costs. In our search for the cheapest places to live in the U.S., we found three big cities that rank surprisingly high for affordability. Is one of these sizable cities right for you?

Indianapolis

City Population: 853,173

Cost of Living: 16.2% below U.S. average

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Median Household Income: $41,987 (U.S.: $53,889)

Median Home Value: $118,300 (U.S.: $178,600)

Average Monthly Rent: $690 (U.S.: $1,004)

Unemployment Rate: 4.0% (U.S.: 4.9%)

Highlight: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Memphis

City Population: 655,770

Cost of Living: 17.0% below U.S. average

Median Household Income: $36,445 (U.S.: $53,889)

Median Home Value: $94,000 (U.S.: $178,600)

Average Monthly Rent: $685 (U.S.: $1,004)

Unemployment Rate: 5.3% (U.S.: 4.9%)

Highlight: Graceland

Oklahoma City

City Population: 631,346

Cost of Living: 15.5% below U.S. average

Median Household Income: $47,779 (U.S.: $53,889)

Median Home Value: $138,600 (U.S.: $178,600)

Average Monthly Rent: $818 (U.S.: $1,004)

Unemployment Rate: 4.2% (U.S.: 4.9%)

Highlight: NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder

See the full list of the cheapest U.S. cities to live in.

Dan Burrows is Kiplinger's senior investing writer, having joined the publication full time in 2016.

A long-time financial journalist, Dan is a veteran of MarketWatch, CBS MoneyWatch, SmartMoney, InvestorPlace, DailyFinance and other tier 1 national publications. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Consumer Reports and his stories have appeared in the New York Daily News, the San Jose Mercury News and Investor's Business Daily, among many other outlets. As a senior writer at AOL's DailyFinance, Dan reported market news from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Once upon a time – before his days as a financial reporter and assistant financial editor at legendary fashion trade paper Women's Wear Daily – Dan worked for Spy magazine, scribbled away at Time Inc. and contributed to Maxim magazine back when lad mags were a thing. He's also written for Esquire magazine's Dubious Achievements Awards.

In his current role at Kiplinger, Dan writes about markets and macroeconomics.

Dan holds a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and a master's degree from Columbia University.

Disclosure: Dan does not trade individual stocks or securities. He is eternally long the U.S equity market, primarily through tax-advantaged accounts.