Life in a big city doesn't have to break the bank.
By Nicole Bode
Think you need to make high six-figures or more to live your best life? Think again.
That’s according to a new survey by personal finance site GoBankingRates that looked at 270 of the largest U.S. cities and ranked the most affordable cities where you can live large even if you happen to be making the national average wage of slightly more than $49,000 a year. The survey took into account the recommended ratio of income, housing costs, living expenses and savings to come to their conclusions.
Here are the top 12 destinations:
No. 1: El Paso, Texas
Income required: $40,024
Median rent: $555 per month
Amenities: El Paso, which was spared the recent flooding that ravaged southeast Texas earlier this month, is a desert town on the border of Mexico with a population of 2.7 million people. It gets more than 300 days of sunshine per year and offers easy proximity to state and national parks including the Franklin Mountains State Park, where coyotes and golden eagles call home and an aerial tramway offers views of Mexico. It was ranked the second safest metro city in the U.S. this year (after NYC) by home security company SafeWise.
No. 2: Springfield, Missouri
Income required: $40,834
Median rent: $495 per month
Amenities: Located near the Ozark Mountain range, Springfield is home to Missouri State University and hosts an art museum, annual jazz festival and other activities.
No. 3: Lubbock, Texas
Income required: $43,201
Median rent: $600 per month
Amenities: This northwest Texas town is home to Texas Tech University, is home to 252,000 people and has dozens of art galleries, museums and monuments — including the Buddy Holly Center, paying homage to the Lubbock-born musician.
No. 4: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Income required: $43,573
Median rent: $699 per month
Amenities: This high desert city is influenced by its Native American and Spanish history and is home to parks, museums and other cultural facilities.
No. 5: Detroit, Michigan
Income required: $44,080
Median rent: $600 per month
Amenities: Michigan’s largest city has been through some tough times since its former heyday as the “motor city”, and many of its residents are still struggling to make ends meet on less than half the income required to live comfortably. But there has been a sustained effort to rebuild Detroit, including a push to make it a hub for biomedical research.
No. 6: Spokane, Washington
Income required: $44,342
Median rent: $650 per month
Amenities: Spokane, which is just under 300 miles east of Seattle and 200 miles south of the Canadian border, has a wealth of outdoor recreational facilities, including a riverfront park, botanical garden and arboretum — not to mention easy proximity to hiking and camping. Its motto is “Near nature, near perfect.”
No. 7: Wichita, Kansas
Income required: $44,776
Median rent: $625 per month
Amenities: There’s no place like home in Witchita, a former cattle town that’s the largest city in Kansas. It boasts nearly three dozen museums, a botanic garden, the nation’s seventh-largest zoo, and other destinations.
No. 8: Freso, California
Income required: $44,838
Median rent: (not provided)
Amenities: Unlike its more expensive neighboring cities of San Fransisco and Los Angeles, Fresno is an affordable part of the golden state that offers access to the majestic Yosemite National Park, home to rock-climbing peak El Capitan, as well as an endless number of destinations including the Forestiere Underground Gardens — an underground park inspired by Roman catacombs — and the Shinzen Japanese garden.
No. 9: Bloomington, Indiana
Income required: $45,663
Median rent: (not provided)
Amenities: The seventh-largest city in Indiana is home to Indiana University, the kid-friendly science museum the WonderLab and ample access to the great outdoors.
No. 10: Cincinnati, Ohio
Income required: $45,702
Median rent: (not provided)
Amenities: This midwestern riverfront town has a thriving cultural and sports sceneincluding playing host to the Bengals, the Reds, and the historic Findlay Market, an outdoor shopping and food hub in the Over-the-Rhine district.
No. 11: Reno, Nevada
Income required: $46,269
Median rent: (not provided)
Amenities: The so-called “Biggest Little City in the World” is larger than its neighbor, Las Vegas, but much more affordable. While gaming and casinos were once a big part of its identity, Reno’s official tourism website focuses more on its outdoor recreational facilities, emphasizing that the “Spectacular Lake Tahoe and the largest concentration of ski facilities in the world are all within a fifty-mile radius. Biking, camping, hunting, fishing and mountain climbing are all activities Reno residents and visitors enjoy.”
No. 12: Tucson, Arizona
Income required: $46, 310
Median rent: $628
Amenities: With hike-worthy mountain ranges on all sides, access to the University of Arizona and miles of mouthwatering Mexican restaurants, Tucson rounds out the list of most affordable big cities in the U.S.
