Cleveland,new eternia merman Ohio, USA downtown city skyline and harbor at twilight.

If you’re struggling to make ends meet, it might have something to do with where you live. It can be tough to stretch even a big paycheck far enough to pay for necessities and have money left over for savings — and a little fun — if you’re in a place where the cost of living is high. So, it might be time to

move to a place that’s more affordable

.

See:

The 50 Best Cities for Renters

In order to help you pinpoint the cheapest places to live, GOBankingRates compared living expenses in 150 of the largest U.S. cities to find out where you can live comfortably. The 50/30/20 budgeting rule was used as a guideline, in which 50% of income covers necessities, 30% covers discretionary items and 20% is for savings. For necessities, the cost of rent, groceries, utilities, transportation and healthcare were used. Then, GOBankingRates doubled the cost of necessities to get the total income needed.

Keep reading to see how much money you need to live comfortably in these U.S. cities.

Last updated: Dec. 2, 2020

View of buildings in Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland.

35. Baltimore

Total annual cost of living:

$26,502.54

Annual income needed:

$53,005.07

Downtown Huntsville, Alabama on a sunny day.

34. Huntsville, Alabama

Total annual cost of living:

$26,385.81

Annual income needed:

$52,771.62

Looking East at downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

33. Kansas City, Missouri

Total annual cost of living:

$26,168.67

Annual income needed:

$52,337.33

Do Your Research:

What Homes Will Be Worth in Your State by the End of 2020

Laredo Texas

32. Laredo, Texas

Total annual cost of living:

$26,041.71

Annual income needed:

$52,083.42

downtown skyline in Chattanooga Tennessee

31. Chattanooga, Tennessee

Total annual cost of living:

$26,037.48

Annual income needed:

$52,074.97

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA downtown city skyline on Lake Michigan at twilight.

30. Milwaukee

Total annual cost of living:

$25,977.35

Annual income needed:

$51,954.70

Downtown Greensboro, North Carolina.

29. Greensboro, North Carolina

Total annual cost of living:

$25,927.14

Annual income needed:

$51,854.28

Corpus Christi, Texas, USA skyline on the bay.

28. Corpus Christi, Texas

Total annual cost of living:

$25,800.21

Annual income needed:

$51,600.42

Cincinnati Skyline at sunset.

27. Cincinnati

Total annual cost of living:

$25,758.50

Annual income needed:

$51,517

Morning in Des Moines, Iowa.

26. Des Moines, Iowa

Total annual cost of living:

$25,635.13

Annual income needed:

$51,270.26

Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA downtown skyline on the Arkansas River at dusk.

25. Tulsa, Oklahoma

Total annual cost of living:

$25,217.09

Annual income needed:

$50,434.18

Wichita, Kansas, USA downtown skyline at dusk.

24. Wichita, Kansas

Total annual cost of living:

$25,200.71

Annual income needed:

$50,401.42

Downtown of Indianapolis by Indiana Central Canal.

23. Indianapolis

Total annual cost of living:

$25,112.34

Annual income needed:

$50,224.67

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA skyline at dusk.

22. Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Total annual cost of living:

$25,034.16

Annual income needed:

$50,068.31

Mobile, Alabama, USA downtown skyline.

21. Mobile, Alabama

Total annual cost of living:

$24,981.49

Annual income needed:

$49,962.98

"Skyline of Little Rock, Arkansas, with Arkansas River full of boats in foreground.

20. Little Rock, Arkansas

Total annual cost of living:

$24,958.48

Annual income needed:

$49,916.95

Detroit Woodward Ave.

19. Detroit

Total annual cost of living:

$24,903.13

Annual income needed:

$49,806.26

Story continues

Amarillo is the 14th-most populous city in the state of Texas, United States.

18. Amarillo, Texas

Total annual cost of living:

$24,839.61

Annual income needed:

$49,679.21

Augusta Georgia

17. Augusta-Richmond, Georgia

Total annual cost of living:

$24,778.75

Annual income needed:

$49,557.49

El Paso, Texas

16. El Paso, Texas

Total annual cost of living:

$24,715.64

Annual income needed:

$49,431.28

Downtown Lubbock, Texas.

15. Lubbock, Texas

Total annual cost of living:

$24,592.25

Annual income needed:

$49,184.51

See:

The Most Expensive Countries To Live In

St.

14. St. Louis

Total annual cost of living:

$24,495.14

Annual income needed:

$48,990.28

The turnabout on Hay Street passes by a historic location in Fayetteville NC.

13. Fayetteville, North Carolina

Total annual cost of living:

$24,246.71

Annual income needed:

$48,493.43

Downtown Buffalo skyline with a wterway and residential buildings in the foreground.

12. Buffalo, New York

Total annual cost of living:

$24,163.60

Annual income needed:

$48,327.20

Aerial view over the downtown city skyline of Fort Wayne Indiana USA.

11. Fort Wayne, Indiana

Total annual cost of living:

$23,717.29

Annual income needed:

$47,434.58

See:

Cheapest Places To Buy a Home in Every State

"The Pyramid Arena landmark building in Memphis, with the Memphis Downtown skyline in the background and Wolf River in the foreground.

10. Memphis, Tennessee

Total annual cost of living:

$23,131.05

Annual income needed:

$46,262.09

Louisiana Shreveport

9. Shreveport, Louisiana

Total annual cost of living:

$23,126.13

Annual income needed:

$46,252.26

Montgomery, Alabama, USA with the State Capitol at dawn.

8. Montgomery, Alabama

Total annual cost of living:

$22,936.20

Annual income needed:

$45,872.40

Columbus Georgia

7. Columbus, Georgia

Total annual cost of living:

$22,594.26

Annual income needed:

$45,188.52

New-York-Rochester

6. Rochester, New York

Total annual cost of living:

$22,577.04

Annual income needed:

$45,154.08

Urban scene of downtown Birmingham, Alabama, USA.

5. Birmingham, Alabama

Total annual cost of living:

$22,049.47

Annual income needed:

$44,098.95

Brownsville is located at the southernmost tip of Texas, on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

4. Brownsville, Texas

Total annual cost of living:

$21,835.35

Annual income needed:

$43,670.70

Downtown Toledo skyline and Maumee River aerial / elevated view at dusk with sunset reflections.

3. Toledo, Ohio

Total annual cost of living:

$20,928.10

Annual income needed:

$41,856.20

dusk in Akron, Ohio.

2. Akron, Ohio

Total annual cost of living:

$20,381.18

Annual income needed:

$40,762.35

Cars come and go at sunrise before rush hour in Clevland Ohio on Lake Erie.

1. Cleveland

Total annual cost of living:

$20,323.36

Annual income needed:

$40,646.72

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Cameron Huddleston

and

Sydney Champion

contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology:

To find 35 cities with low costs of living, GoBankingRates analyzed the 150 largest cities in the United States by population, according to the Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey. First, GOBankingRates referenced the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2019 Consumer Expenditure Survey data to find the amount that a typical consumer unit spends annually on necessities across the following five categories: housing, groceries, utilities, healthcare and transportation. Then, GOBankingRates used Sperling’s Best Places’ cost-of-living indices to adjust spending estimates in each category to reflect prices in each city. Finally, GOBankingRates doubled the estimated total annual cost of necessities in each city to create an estimated minimum income needed to live comfortably, using the 50/30/20 budgeting rule (which allocates 50% of income to necessities, 30% to discretionary spending and 20% to savings) as a guideline. Cities were then ranked on the estimated minimum income needed to live comfortably, with No. 1 being the city with the overall lowest cost of living. All data was collected on and up to date as of Nov. 20-23, 2020.

This article originally appeared on

GOBankingRates.com

:

35 Surprising Cities With Low Costs of Living

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