In search of affordability: Where to find a lower cost of living

If there’s one issue that every single American is dealing with these days, it’s that costs are going up. Food, shelter, energy: The bills just keep getting bigger, and the affordability of daily life is being strained.

But here’s some surprising math you might not be aware of: Affordability can be extremely different depending on where you live. 

That means you can completely change your budget outlook by picking up stakes, and finding somewhere that’s a better fit for your finances.

“As costs have risen in recent years, this has become a big topic,” says Andrew Fincher, a planner with VLP Financial Advisors in Vienna, Va. 

It’s more common than you might think. In fact, in a new survey commissioned by Current and conducted by Talker Research, 38% of respondents said they moved because where they were living had become too expensive. Among Gen Z that figure rises even higher, to an eye-popping 51%. In addition, over half of respondents didn’t believe they’d ever be able to live in their “ideal” city (52%) or state (48%), with Gen Z again being the most pessimistic, with 64% saying they don’t think they will be able to afford their ideal city. 

To be sure, a move is not something to be taken lightly: It involves a lot of different factors, social as well as economic, from job status to friends to family.

But if you’re looking for something to dramatically change your cost-of-living equation – and even your eventual retirement prospects – a big move is certainly one way to pull that off.

Do your due diligence

The first step in getting it right is to do your research. The Current survey provides a critical piece of information: The states reported as being most affordable by their own residents.

The affordability ‘winners’: Mississippi, at 62%; Alabama, at 61%; and Oklahoma, at 60%. Those are followed closely by Iowa at 57%, and Missouri and South Dakota and Texas, all tied at 56%. 

Of course, just as useful is the information about which states are not affordable. On that end of the spectrum, you find Hawaii at 12%; Alaska and Colorado at 14%, and Connecticut at 16%.

But that isn’t the only statistic to consider, when weighing whether to pack up and go. Some other factors that could influence such a big life decision:

-Tax rates. If state income taxes are a major concern for you, good news – there are nine states which don’t have them at all, including major population centers like Texas and Florida, which came in at 56% and 32% of residents, respectively, calling those states ‘affordable’ in the study.

Of course that’s only one piece of the total tax hit: States have to fund their operations somehow, so you would be wise to look into issues like sales and property taxes as well. The areas with the stiffest property taxes in the nation are New Jersey, Illinois, and Connecticut, while the lowest are Hawaii, Alabama and Colorado.

-Your stage of life. At certain life moments, moving is a much more challenging operation. If your kids are settled in a good school with a rich network of friends, you might not want to disrupt that. Or if a job you love requires you to be on-site at a particular office, you likely don’t want to give that up, especially in this turbulent economy.

But at other life stages, when you have more flexibility, a move can make a lot of sense. “Is your life at a point where it’s going to change anyway?” asks Nick Weisert, a Denver financial planner. “Are you selling a house, or your kids no longer live with you, or are you close to retirement?”

-Housing costs. The biggest chunk of our paychecks typically goes towards shelter, whether we’re buying or renting. Financial planners often suggest that housing costs not exceed 30% of income, although many of us are already well beyond that.

When real estate Zillow crunched the numbers to find which cities across the nation had the largest share of affordable listings, it came up with this top five: Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Buffalo, Detroit, and Indianapolis.

A final note: While state affordability is definitely a factor to consider, remember that some money-saving actions can be taken no matter where you live. 

That could include shifting savings – which could be earning you nothing -- into higher-earning accounts, such as Current, which offers up to a 4.00% bonus on money in Savings Pods. It could also involve the longer-term work of boosting your credit score, helped by the use of products like a secured charge card, including Current’s Build Card. Increasing your credit score will alter what you pay on everything from car notes to personal loans to mortgages.

Combining those two strategies – maximizing your finances right where you are, while also looking at lower-cost possibilities around the country – can be a powerful step in making life more affordable.

Advises Weisert: “Generally a move is a good idea if it frees up 20% or more of your cash flow, or pulls retirement up by 2-3 years -- and leads to a meaningful improvement in quality of life.”Wondering where your ideal state fell on the ‘affordability’ survey? Here is the full list!

1. Hawaii — 12%
2. Alaska, Colorado — 14%
3. Connecticut — 16%
4. Rhode Island — 17%
5. New Jersey — 21%
6. Oregon, Massachusetts — 23%
7. Maine, Nevada, Vermont — 24%
8. California, Illinois, New York — 27%
9. New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Utah — 28%
10. Washington — 30%
11. Maryland — 31%
12. Florida — 32%
13. Montana — 37%
14. Minnesota — 38%
15. North Carolina — 39%
16. New Mexico — 40%
17. Arizona — 41%
18. Virginia — 42%
19. Georgia, Michigan — 43%
20. West Virginia, Wisconsin — 44%
21. Idaho — 45%
22. Indiana, Louisiana — 49%
23. Delaware, Wyoming — 50%
24. Nebraska — 51%
25. Tennessee — 52%
26. Kansas, Kentucky — 53%
27. Arkansas, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina — 54%
28. Missouri, South Dakota, Texas — 56%
29. Iowa — 57%
30. Oklahoma — 60%
31. Alabama — 61%
32. Mississippi — 62%