10 Cheapest Small Towns to Live In

The cheapest small towns to live in aren't for everyone. True, small-town living has plenty of perks: light traffic, a strong sense of community and a slower pace of life. Perhaps best of all, there's the cost of living, which typically is cheaper in small towns than in expensive big cities.

To get a sense of what inexpensive small-town living really costs, we compiled a list of the 10 cheapest small towns to live in America, with small towns defined as places with populations of approximately 10,000 to 50,000 people.

We compiled our rankings based on the Council for Community and Economic Research's (C2ER) calculations of living expenses in 265 urban areas. C2ER's Cost of Living Index measures prices for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, healthcare, and miscellaneous goods and services, such as going to a movie or getting your hair done at a salon.

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The data, which sorts through thousands of prices in hundreds of cities, allowed us to pinpoint the small towns with the absolute lowest living costs. (For larger urban areas, be sure to read our list of the 25 Cheapest Places to Live: U.S. Cities Edition).

It goes without saying that you should weigh the pros and cons before you pack up and relocate to one of the 10 cheapest small towns in America. While a low cost of living is attractive, it can be offset by issues such as scarce jobs, small paychecks or a lack of things to do in the area. Plan an extended visit to ensure the small town fits your lifestyle. And in a tight real estate market, consider all your options, even buying a foreclosed home.

And so, without further ado, here are the 10 cheapest small towns to live in the U.S.

10. Dalton Georgia

• Cost of living: 
• Population: 
• Median household income: (U.S.: $80,610)
• Median home price:  (U.S.: $520,771)
• Unemployment rate: (U.S.: 4.1%)

9. Morristown Tennessee

• Cost of living: 12.6%
• Population: 30,983
• Median household income: $44,811
• Median home price: $383,902
• Unemployment rate: 3.5%

Morristown is a city in and the county seat of Hamblen County, and is centrally located between eight counties. This location allows Morristown to be the regional hub for employment, shopping, recreation, healthcare and educational opportunities in the area. The city lies within the Ridge and Valley of the Appalachians and is considered part of a region known as the "Lakeway Area," consisting of a land area surrounding Cherokee and Douglas lakes.

The Cherokee’s 400 miles of shoreline is dotted with a variety of public access areas, county and municipal parks, commercial boat docks, Panther Creek State Park, and a state wildlife management area. And, with a temperate climate, anglers can enjoy fishing nearly every day of the year. So, grab your rod, boat, kayak or canoe and set sail for a fun day on the water at Cherokee Lake. With over 400 miles of shoreline, beautiful Cherokee Lake, a fisherman’s haven, was recently ranked No. 12 on BASSMASTERS’ list of 100 Best Bass Lakes in the United States.

Tennessee is one of the few states to earn a spot on Kiplinger’s 10 Most Tax-Friendly States for Retirees and Best States for Middle-Class Families Who Hate Paying Taxes. It may be no surprise that the cost of living in Morristown is easy on your pockets. Housing and transportation costs are well below average coming in at 25.5% and 18.3% less than the mean.

There is plenty of free entertainment in the summer. The Downtown Green located in Morristown’s historic district is the home of a monthly summer concert series as well as the popular Morristown Craft Beer Festival, held on the fourth Saturday in September. And if you prefer to indulge in some wine, you’ll pay 7% more for the vino.

If you need one more reason to get outside, the city boasts four championship disc golf courses, which has made it the premier destination in Tennessee for competitors of all skill levels. If yoga is more your speed, you are in luck. Classes are a whopping 53% cheaper than average. Your Zen comes at a heavily discounted price.

8. Admore, Oklahoma

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Ardmore is another Sooner State locale making the list of cheapest small towns in the U.S., thanks to a cost of living that runs more than 15% below the national average.

Ardmore is about a 90-minute drive south from Oklahoma City. And just like that big city to the north, it offers citizens breaks on all kinds of daily expenses. Housing, as is always the case, leads the way in which locals save their hard-earned wages. Overall housing costs, which include mortgages, rents, insurance and related expenses, are 33.5% cheaper in Ardmore compared to the U.S. average.

True, groceries are only about 6% cheaper than the U.S. average, but transportation is almost 15% less expensive. Healthcare and miscellaneous goods and services are all on sale, as well.

Major employers include Michelin North America, Mercy Hospital Ardmore and Valero Energy (VLO), which operates an oil refinery in the area.

Locals who love the great outdoors can avail themselves of Lake Murray State Park, while those looking to escape the brutal summer heat can find refuge in Ardmore's Greater Southwest Historical Museum. The town is also known as the home of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, a leading agricultural research institution.

7. Hammond, Louisiana

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Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana and is located 45 miles east of Baton Rouge and 45 miles northwest of New Orleans. Its airport has a long runway which serves as a backup landing site for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. During World War II, the Hammond Airport (now Hammond Northshore Regional Airport) served as a detention camp for prisoners of war from Nazi Germany.

The Andouille Trail is a unique culinary byway that will introduce you to Hammond’s contribution to Louisiana cuisine, Andouille sausage. A tasty way to explore Hammond, you'll find producers with wooden smokehouses and recipes that have been handed down for generations.

Groceries don't come at a great bargain at only 4% below the national average. Fortunately, average housing and utility costs are 35%, and 20.4% lower respectively.

Among the city's cultural experiences is the Tangipahoa African American Heritage Museum. This is one of the destinations on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.

Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU), based in Hammond, is one of the state's regional universities and one of the city's largest employers. It was established in 1925 and employs 2,020 people.

Kiplinger's Louisiana State Tax Guide show that the tax profile of the state is generally favorable for many residents. There is no income tax on Social Security benefits and no estate taxes. Property taxes are among the lowest in the U.S. with the average effective property tax rate at 0.56%.

6. Muskogee, Oklahoma

• Cost of living: 16.1% below U.S. average
• Population: 36,819
• Median household income: $48,735 
• Median home price: $347,667  
• Unemployment rate: 4.9%

Muskogee packs a lot of history, culture and higher education into a pint-sized package.

Located about 50 miles southeast of Tulsa, the town traces its roots back to 1817. It's home to four institutions of higher learning, as well as the Oklahoma School for the Blind. Jim Thorpe – All-American, the 1951 film starring Burt Lancaster, was shot on the campus of what was then known as the Bacone Indian University in Muskogee. The town also boasts six museums and the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

And let's not forget what is arguably the town's most famous appearance in popular culture: Merle Haggard's hit song "Okie from Muskogee," which became an emblem of Vietnam-era America.

Today, the area's employers include the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, a VA medical center and paper company Georgia-Pacific.

But what really puts Muskogee on the map is its ultra-low cost of living. The biggest break comes from housing-related expenses, which are 33.2% lower than the national average, according to C2ER's Cost of Living Index. Healthcare is notably cheaper, too. Costs are almost 15% lower than most Americans pay.

5. Salina, Kansas

• Cost of living: 16.9% below U.S. average
• Population: 46,432 
• Median household income: $60,624 
• Median home price: $355,200 
• Unemployment rate: 3.6%

The small town of Salina sits at the intersection of Interstates 70 and 135, about 90 miles north of Wichita and 175 miles west of Kansas City.

Manufacturing and healthcare are among the town's most important industries. Major employers include Schwan's Company, the maker of Tony's frozen pizza; Great Plains Manufacturing, which serves the agricultural industry; and the Salina Regional Health Center. Salina is also home to several institutions of higher education, including the University of Kansas School of Medicine Salina Campus and Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus.

Salina's economic mix has proven adept at delivering both low unemployment and low living costs. Housing expenses come in at roughly two-thirds of the national average, according to C2ER. Transportation is cheaper too, running about 8% less than the national average.

Locals catch breaks in lots of other ways, too. Groceries and miscellaneous goods and services all cost less than the national averages. Utilities is the outlier and is 2.3% above the national average.

On the other hand, taxes are somewhat burdensome statewide. In fact, Kiplinger's Kansas State Tax Guide rates it as one of the least tax-friendly states for middle-class families, largely because of a high sales tax. Kansas is one of the nine states that tax Social Security retirement benefits.

4. Tupelo, Mississippi

• Cost of living: 17.9% below U.S. average
• Population: 37,825 
• Median household income: $66,314 
• Median home price: $352,333
• Unemployment rate: 4.2%

Tupelo, which sits 110 miles southeast of Memphis's Graceland, is best known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley. Tourists flock to the town's Elvis Presley Birthplace museum and the annual Elvis Festival held in June.

Not a fan of The King? The area's leisure and cultural scene also includes the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Park and Zoo, Tombigbee National Forest, the Tupelo National Battlefield and the Tupelo Automobile Museum, among other attractions.

Tupelo's second-largest claim to fame is arguably its super-low living costs. The comprehensive cost of living comes in at nearly 18.3% below the national average. Housing is almost 36% cheaper, groceries go for 5% less and locals save about 10% on transportation, 13.5% on healthcare and 15% on utilities.

For residents not making their livings as Elvis impersonators, major employers include North Mississippi Health Services and Cooper Tire & Rubber. Additionally, two regional banks — Renasant Bank (RNST) and BancorpSouth (BXS) — are headquartered in Tupelo.

3. Pittsburg, Kansas

• Cost of living: 17.9% below U.S. average
• Population: 20,606 
• Median household income: $40,220 
• Median home price: $442,800 
• Unemployment rate: 5.7%

Pittsburg is about a two-and-a-half-hour drive due south from Kansas City on Route 69. When you get there, you'll find a small town with a cost of living almost 18% below the national average.

Once upon a time, the town was known for its abundance of coal and the Southern and Eastern European immigrants who worked the mines. Today, the area relies more heavily on higher education, thanks to the presence of Pittsburg State University. Famous alumni of Pittsburg's local university include actor Gary Busey and Brian Moorman, retired two-time Pro Bowl punter for the NFL's Buffalo Bills.

Other major employers include transportation company Watco, and Via Christi Hospital medical center.

As for leisure activities, tiny Pittsburg doesn't lack for family-friendly things to do. Area highlights include Lakeside Park, the Crawford County Historical Museum and the Pittsburg Aquatic Center.

Although median incomes are well below the national average, average home prices are a whopping $97,971 cheaper. All told, housing costs are 27.7% lower than what the typical American pays. Myriad other items are economical, as well. Miscellaneous goods and services run about 18% cheaper in Pittsburg. A movie ticket, for example, averages about seven bucks.

2. Richmond, Indiana

• Cost of living: 19.0% below U.S. average
• Population: 35,551 
• Median household income: $46,395
• Median home price: $325,000
• Unemployment rate: 4.5%

Few cities of any size can claim Richmond's place in the early history of recorded jazz. Some of the first jazz records were made in this small town, featuring greats such as Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. There's a Walk of Fame celebrating jazz and other artists who recorded with Richmond's Gennett Records.

While jazz will always be part of its history, today's Richmond, which is an hour's drive west from Dayton, Ohio, is known more for its colleges and seminaries. They include Indiana University East, the Earlham School of Religion (part of Quaker-influenced Earlham College) and the Bethany Theological Seminary.

Inexpensive housing is a key to Richmond's place among our nation's cheapest small towns. Residents spend a third less on housing than the average American does. Apartment rents are 43% lower, at $895, than the national average of $1,578. The average home price of $325,500 is 37.5% less.

Healthcare is a bargain, too. For example, a visit to the eye doctor costs almost half the national average, while an appointment with a physician is 33% less expensive.

1. Ponca City, Oklahoma

• Cost of living: 19.3% below U.S. average
• Population: 24,377 
• Median household income: $55,270 
• Median home price: $390,000
• Unemployment rate: 3.7%

Ponca City traces its lineage back to the days of the Land Run of 1893, when pioneers decided to build a town in north-central Oklahoma near the Arkansas River and a freshwater spring.

Not long after its founding, enterprising oil men successfully drilled wells in the area, and Ponca City remains an oil town to this day. Some of the area's largest employers include energy firms such as Schlumberger (SLB), ConocoPhillips (COP) and Phillips 66 (PSX).

Local attractions include the Marland Mansion, which was built by oil baron E.W. Marland in the early 20th century. It's now a museum. Dedicated in 1930, the Pioneer Woman Statute, a 30-foot-tall monument of a pioneer woman holding a young child, is also not to be missed.

Household incomes are well below the national median, but housing is a heck of a deal. The median price of a Ponca City home is just $390,000. Nationally, it's $520,771. Indeed, total housing costs are roughly just two-thirds of what the average American pays, according to C2ER's Cost of Living Index. Residents also catch a break on all manner of miscellaneous goods and services, which are are 18.5% lower than the national average. The discount on healthcare is 11.6% and groceries are a smidge cheaper at 6% below the national average.

Although it's among the cheapest small towns in America, Ponca City's low costs of living do come at a cost: The town sits pretty much smack dab in the middle of Tornado Alley.

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