These Are The 25 Most Affordable Cities In America

Most Americans know living costs vary widely across the country, with the coasts being significantly more expensive than Middle America.

From rent and groceries to gas, the Midwest often stands out for its affordability. But just how far does this pattern extend?

To find out, Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao ranked the 25 most affordable cities among America’s 50 largest, based on average monthly household spending on 10 common bills.

Data is sourced from payment platform Doxo’s annual report tracking household expenditure.

America’s Least Expensive City: Detroit

Detroit, still home to America’s big three automakers, is the most affordable large American city.

Households in Detroit spend about $1,600 a month, almost $100 less than second-ranked Cleveland, Ohio. This is also the largest gap between cities on this list.

As previously suspected, America’s most affordable large cities are clustered in the Midwest (particularly around the Great Lakes) and the South.

In fact, only five cities on the entire list are not in one of the two regions. Of them, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ($2,060/month) is the only one that can be considered on the seaboard.

But of course, just dollars spent isn’t everything.

By looking at the share of monthly income put towards these bills, new patterns emerge.

For example, Detroit households spent nearly half of their monthly income on these bills, far more than 25th ranked Fort Worth households (37%).

So which cities spend the most on bills? Check out: America’s Least Affordable Cities Going Into 2025 for a breakdown.