We combed through the most recent cost-of-living metrics from the Council for Community & Economic Research, which compares the average cost of groceries, transportation, and utilities in each state to the national average. Then, we compiled the median price for a house in each state, according to Zillow’s real estate database. Together, these indicators created our final Cheap Score. The results point to one extremely wallet-friendly place to live. This state has the lowest median housing price in America and rates the second-lowest on the transportation index. It also lands in the top 10 states with the cheapest utility bills. To find out where your state falls in the budget, read on, and for more areas that are hurting your bank account, This Is the State Where Your Money Is Worth the Least. Median housing price: $649,905 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +69.3 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +46.6 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +99.4 percent Cheap Score: 3.09 Median housing price: $586,659 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +19.5 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +33 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +28 percent Cheap Score: 23.1 And for more places you probably dislike, This Is the Most Hated State in America. Median housing price: $285,487 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +31.8 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +20 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +60.1 percent Cheap Score: 34.24 And for more areas that are struggling, This Is the Least Successful State in the U.S. Median housing price: $457,192 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +16.1 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +11.9 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +7.1 percent Cheap Score: 35.25 Median housing price: $442,339 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +8 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +18.6 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -9.1 percent Cheap Score: 38.2 Median housing price: $379,503 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +13.3 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +33.2 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -11.4 percent Cheap Score: 39.14 Median housing price: $346,328 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +20.6 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +10.8 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -0.2 percent Cheap Score: 41.28 Median housing price: $321,513 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +9.4 percentae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +3.7 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +25.3 percent Cheap Score: 41.62 Median housing price: $272,404 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +8.2 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +12.5 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +34.9 percent Cheap Score: 41.93 Median housing price: $357,546 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +9.9 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +8.7 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -1.5 percent Cheap Score: 42.49 Median housing price: $326,553 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +17 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +2.1 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +9.4 percent Cheap Score: 42.61 Median housing price: $423,364 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -2.8 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +5.8 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -13.9 percent Cheap Score: 42.69 Median housing price: $262,525 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +12.4 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +16.4 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +18.8 percent Cheap Score: 43.42 Median housing price: $377,443 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -1.1 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +5.3 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -7 percent Cheap Score: 43.98 Median housing price: $316,102 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +8 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +20.4 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -8.1 percent Cheap Score: 44.16 Median housing price: $271,530 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +23 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +1.1 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -4 percent Cheap Score: 46.41 Median housing price: $309,709 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -2.4 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -4.5 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +11.1 percent Cheap Score: 46.49 Median housing price: $291,168 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -0.9 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +5.6 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +4.6 percent Cheap Score: 46.78 Median housing price: $255,736 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +1.5 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +0.6 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +11.9 percent Cheap Score: 47.96 Median housing price: $272,175 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +6.9 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +0.4 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -2.7 percent Cheap Score: 48.32 Median housing price: $208,774 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +7.8 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +11.4 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +9.5 percent Cheap Score: 48.47 Median housing price: $259,642 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +4.6 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -1.3 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +4.5 percent Cheap Score: 48.54 Median housing price: $296,604 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -2.3 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -6.2 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -1.7 percent Cheap Score: 48.94 Median housing price: $311,024 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +3.5 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -9.3 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -13.7 percent Cheap Score: 49.39 Median housing price: $315,911 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -6.7 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +1.3 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -16.6 percent Cheap Score: 49.45 Median housing price: $237,608 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +2.4 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +2.6 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -9.2 percent Cheap Score: 51.14 Median housing price: $203,707 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +1.9 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -7.1 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +5.9 percent Cheap Score: 52.23 Median housing price: $215,891 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -5.2 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +4.8 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -6.6 percent Cheap Score: 52.58 Median housing price: $217,575 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -1 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -6.4 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -1 percent Cheap Score: 52.67 Median housing price: $259,371 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: +5.6 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -18.9 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -12.1 percent Cheap Score: 52.71 Median housing price: $213,918 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -0.3 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -3.6 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -6 percent Cheap Score: 53.04 Median housing price: $223,107 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -10.5 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -8.9 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +2.6 percent Cheap Score: 53.44 Median housing price: $220,326 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -0.8 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -5.6 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -9.6 percent Cheap Score: 53.48 Median housing price: $200,295 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -4.1 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -3.1 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -2.9 percent Cheap Score: 53.75 Median housing price: $184,304 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -11.1 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +3.1 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +0.6 percent Cheap Score: 54.21 Median housing price: $217,355 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -1.6 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -8.3 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -11.4 percent Cheap Score: 54.29 Median housing price: $157,584 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -3.7 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -2.4 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: 0 percent Cheap Score: 55.38 Median housing price: $186,579 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -1.6 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -5.6 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -11 percent Cheap Score: 55.45 Median housing price: $171,811 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -2.1 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -9.1 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -2.6 percent Cheap Score: 55.51 Median housing price: $161,507 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -2.7 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: +5.1 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -11.6 percent Cheap Score: 55.57 Median housing price: $200,257 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -4.9 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -12.1 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -7.9 percent Cheap Score: 55.6 Median housing price: $155,782 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -6.4 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -6.8 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: +3.7 percent Cheap Score: 55.9 Median housing price: $166,556 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -8.1 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -1.7 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -4.2 percent Cheap Score: 55.92 Median housing price: $176,987 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -2 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -3.4 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -13.2 percent Cheap Score: 55.98 Median housing price: $165,364 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -8.4 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -5.3 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -0.4 percent Cheap Score: 55.99 Median housing price: $153,649 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -8.6 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -5.5 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -3.4 percent Cheap Score: 57.01 Median housing price: $139,614 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -7.6 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -7 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -6.9 percent Cheap Score: 58.21 Median housing price: $150,910 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -10 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -10.2 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -7 percent Cheap Score: 58.35 Median housing price: $131,774 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -7.8 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -10.5 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -7.2 percent Cheap Score: 59.1 Median housing price: $108,333 Cost of groceries compared to the national average: -3.3 percent Cost of transportation compared to the national average: -16.6 percent Cost of utilities compared to the national average: -10.6 percent Cheap Score: 60.9
