With rising inflation and mortgage rates, many Americans are considering relocating to areas with lower housing and living costs. States such as New York, California, and Illinois are losing citizens to South Carolina, Texas, and Idaho, where people can still get more bang for their buck without sacrificing their level of living or employment possibilities.
However, if affordability is genuinely a high issue for you, try moving to South Bend, Indiana, which recently topped Niche.com’s list of places with the lowest cost of living in America.
South Bend, located on the St. Joseph River in Northern Indiana and home to around 103,000 people, achieved an overall grade of A- based on its performance in numerous categories, including housing, jobs, diversity, and cost of living. According to Zillow, the median property value in South Bend is $169,000, more than $200,000 less than the national average, and the median rent is $935, less than the national average of $1,268. Furthermore, the entire cost of living, which includes things like groceries, transportation, clothing, and utilities, is 18% less than the national average.
South Bend is home to the University of Notre Dame, which has influenced the city’s social life. It has a variety of recreational activities, restaurants, pubs, sports, and cultural events. Those wanting a more active lifestyle closer to nature would thrive here, as there are numerous parks and hiking paths. Howard Park, for example, on the St. Joseph River, has 13 acres of facilities, including a playground and an ice walk.
Niche.com rated South Bend’s work market as a B, and its commute an A. According to the Bureau of Labor, the city’s unemployment rate in February 2024 was 4.7 percent, with education, healthcare, and manufacturing among the industries with the most jobs in the area.
However, the city’s lowest rankings were in the crime and safety (D+) and weather (C) categories, as South Bend has more violent and property crimes per capita than the national average.
Evansville, Indiana, ranked third among the most affordable cities in the US. Brownsville, located in southern Texas on the Gulf of Mexico, came in second.