20 Most Affordable Big Cities in the U.S.

Examining the 20 least expensive big cities in the US. I look at median house values for the metro areas in the US with a population of over 2 million and compare that to the median income of the areas.

0:00 Intro and Methodology
1:44 Countdown begins

Album displayed:
New Riders of the Purple Sage - "New Riders of the Purple Sage" (1973)

[MohondasK]

Don’t let the “Rust Belt” fool you…a lot of these cities are doing great things and attracting high tech, corporate jobs. They are fun, easy places to live. I’ve got 99 problems, but cost of living ain’t one.

[JordanPeace]

Would’ve been nice to see rent in addition to housing prices as another factor for affordability, since (especially for young people looking for a place to move to after high school or college) rent is a pretty relevant factor that doesn’t always align perfectly with housing prices

[marioqueso]

I'm a plumber and I've done a similar analysis, except that I used average plumber wages instead of overall wages. California cities & Hawaii are the least affordable for plumbers. Then the South and Southwest are largely pretty bad places to be a plumber. Then you have the east coast cities, they are generally better than the south/ southwest, . Surprisingly Seattle and Portland are pretty high up there. But Midwest cities beat everyone out by a long shot. The only problem with the Midwest is that projected job growth is really slow.

[davidtardio]

I really respect the fact that you share your information sources and that you don't just denigrate all of the large US cities in the same way that others do.

[dmdeester]

8:17 "Not only is Cleveland not the hell-hole people think it is" perfect way to describe it. My family lives in the town of Brecksville, located 15 miles south of Cleveland in Cuyahoga County and to me that is the best suburb town in America since it has access to both a big city and a nature reserve right in its own backyard. I really love all the metro-parks that surround Cleveland.

[jnyerere]

I grew up in the DC suburbs where a 1 bdrm apt in a rat-infested, roach-infested complex for $1400 (utilities not included, no washer/dryer) was the norm. Moving to Baltimore City (not County) was the best decision I ever made. I now live in Mount Vernon (north of downtown) in an amazing 2 bdrm apt in a historic brownstone. Great walkable historic neighborhood with great restaurants, great amenities, water included, and washer/dryer in-unit and I pay $1150/month. A lot of ppl allow sensationalist news to keep them suffering when they don't have to. This Baltimore neighborhood I've been living in for 3 yrs has hands down been the best independent living experience of my life. All because I decided to give this great city a chance.

[brianarbenz]

Fine research, Kyle. But I would like to say a word about "average incomes." Particularly in the Sun Belt, when high paying jobs have quickly come into a city and county, it's usually because corporations have been drawn there because unions are weak, and there is no local or state addendum to federal Minimum Wage levels. This means precisely that wages are basically low. Those techy people with degrees in science and management moving in push the average wage up rapidly, but they are sometimes 10 or 20 percent of the population. The remaining 80 to 90 are generally some of the poorest people in the nation. We need to value having a small income gap, rather than average wages. That makes for a vastly better place to live.

[verde]

Nice to hear you acknowledge Cincinnati's glory. It's underrated across the board and is pretty legit. Keep up the good videos my man.

[Towboatin]

Recent transplant to Pittsburgh, here. Cost of living wasn't the primary consideration, but it really is hard to argue with the bang you get for your buck in some of the rust belt cities. Pittsburgh offers so much for far less than any of the major east coast metros. There are definitely drawbacks, but the region is loaded with character and the vibe is unique.

[woodwaker]

Really good video. I grew up in Cleveland and have lived in the Kansas City area for 50 years. Ohio and Missouri have some great people and cities, unfortunately some of the areas deserve their reputations, but they are concentrated and easy to avoid. All big cities seem to have them.

[Athas]

The best US geography channel and one of the best channels on YouTube. Keep going your thing Kyle.

[derbagger]

I agree about Cleveland. The abundance of interesting green space really shocked me the first time I spent any real time there....

[pjflynn]

Love the thumbnail!! The painted ladies of Charles Village in Baltimore are stunning. So incredibly underrepresented and beautiful.

[matthewpatrick]

House prices in Pittsburgh are cheap because there used to be 800, 000 people and now there are only 300, 000. That's a lot of excess supply.

[martha]

I live in western PA. The reason housing costs are so low is that the people here never bought into "housing mania". People buy houses to live in, not to gamble with. We don't have a lot of bidding war nonsense. Ask a fair price and you get something in that vicinity. Prices have risen over the years, but no astronomical leaps.

[NamelessProducts]

I moved to Cleveland from Florida about 3 years ago and I could immediately feel the difference in my finances.


This list doesn't surprise me at all.

Can't wait to get a bunch of transplants in the coming years for our water.

Cleveland needs to grow. Not Shrink.

[zakunick]

As a life long Baltimorean, finding a place to live near the city that is mostly safe but not more than 200k hasn’t been the easiest.

[michael]

Great video! Nice seeing the 3 Ohio cities on the list! I enjoyed watching!

[evanlimes]

I’m about to graduate college and don’t know where to look for jobs. This video is a huge help.

[docjaramillo]

For what it’s worth… I’m a primary care doctor and I live in New York City (Brooklyn), with current 5 year post residency training salary of about 250k per year, and I have no plans or financial ability to ever own a 2 bedroom apartment where I practice. I’ll either have to double my income and save for another decade or just be happy being a renter. Fact is I wouldn’t want to raise my family in most of the cities mentioned. It is safe here, no school shootings, massive cultural and educational opportunities, every language and food can be found here. For all of its difficulties and there are many, real big city living is still worth it for us.