The cheapest small towns to live in aren't for everyone.
True, small-town living has plenty of perks: light traffic, a strong sense of community and a slower pace of life. Perhaps best of all, there's the cost of living, which typically is cheaper in small towns than in expensive big cities.
To get a sense of what inexpensive small-town living really costs, we compiled a list of the 10 cheapest small towns to live in America, with small towns defined as places with populations of approximately 10,000 to 50,000 people.
We compiled our rankings based on the Council for Community and Economic Research's (C2ER) calculations of living expenses in 265 urban areas. C2ER's Cost of Living Index measures prices for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, healthcare, and miscellaneous goods and services, such as going to a movie or getting your hair done at a salon.
The data, which sorts through thousands of prices in hundreds of cities, allowed us to pinpoint the small towns with the absolute lowest living costs. (For larger urban areas, be sure to read our list of the 25 Cheapest Places to Live: U.S. Cities Edition.)
It goes without saying that you should weigh the pros and cons before you pack up and relocate to one of the 10 cheapest small towns in America. While a low cost of living is attractive, it can be offset by issues such as scarce jobs, small paychecks or a lack of things to do in the area. Plan an extended visit to ensure the small town fits your lifestyle.
And so, without further ado, here are the 10 cheapest small towns to live in the U.S.
- Cost of living: 12.2% below U.S. average
- Population: 15,985
- Median household income: $37,734 (U.S.: $74,755 )
- Median home price: $327,717 (U.S. average: $508,666)
- Unemployment rate: 4.4% (U.S.: 4.1%)
Tiny Dublin, Georgia, punches well above its population-size weight. This town situated about halfway between Atlanta and Savannah hosts three institutions of higher education (Georgia Military College, Oconee Fall Line Technical College and Middle Georgia State University all have campuses there), a Veterans Administration Medical Center, and two nationally recognized historic districts.
Whether residents buy or rent, expenses related to keeping a roof over one's head are 38% lower than the U.S. average. The average price of a house in Dublin stands at $327,717, per C2ER, vs $327,717 nationally. That represents a savings of 35.6%. Rents, meanwhile, are cheaper by 21.3%.
Locals catch breaks on everything from groceries to transportation to utilities to miscellaneous goods and services, as well. A trip to the doctor averages $100, vs more than $142.61 for the U.S. as a whole. You'll save 59% taking a yoga class, 44.4% getting a haircut and prescription drugs cost 12% more.
And in a special break for Dublin's senior citizens, Georgia happens to be one of the more tax-friendly states for retirees.
Sadly, too many of Dublin's residents struggle despite its low costs of living. The town's poverty rate is 35.5% and that's more than double the Georgia state poverty rate.
- Cost of living: 14.1%
- Population: 23,976
- Median household income: $51,628
- Median home price: $299,333
- Unemployment rate: 4.3%
The American Fur Company of John Jacob Astor established a post in the area in 1829. Burlington was once a bustling river port in the steamboat era and a central city to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The Port of Burlington is now a rental facility on the Mississippi River just south of the Great River Bridge. Its population peaked in 1970.
Burlington's roots are in transportation and manufacturing and saw many of the manufacturing jobs relocate in the 1970’s and 80’s. Manufacturing plants are still among the largest employers in the area, including companies such as American Ordnance LLC, Case Corporation, ABB (formerly General Electric), and Champion Spark Plugs. The average income and home values reflect the economic difficulties in Burlington. Income is $23,127 below average and home prices are over $200k lower than the national average.
Ripley's Believe It or Not has designated Snake Alley as "Unbelievably Crooked" and the #1 Odd Spot in Ripley's Guide to the Curious Corners of America. Arguably Burlington's most famous landmark, Snake Alley consists of five half-curves and two quarter-curves and is reminiscent of vineyard paths in France and Germany. It reminds me of Lombard Street in San Francisco. It plays host to an annual uphill bike race and art fair.
Residents of Burlington pay above average or more for utilities (3.8%) and transportation (1.6%) despite having an overall cost of living 14% below average. Grocery bills are about 4.5% lower with coffee costing 11% less than average.
Iowa's tax rates are generally favorable. The average effective property tax rate is 1.49%, the highest rate is 5.7% and will fall to 3.82% in 2025. Iowa no longer taxes retirement income for taxpayers 55 or older. And in another tax friendly move, Iowa's inheritance tax ranges from 2% to 6% and will be completely repealed on January 1, 2025.
- Cost of living: 14.1% below U.S. average
- Population: 24,784
- Median household income: $49,408
- Median home price: $325,000
- Unemployment rate: 4.2%
Ardmore is another Sooner State locale making the list of cheapest small towns in the U.S., thanks to a cost of living that runs more than 15% below the national average.
Ardmore is about a 90-minute drive south from Oklahoma City. And just like that big city to the north, it offers citizens breaks on all kinds of daily expenses. Housing, as is always the case, leads the way in which locals save their hard-earned wages. Overall housing costs, which include mortgages, rents, insurance and related expenses, are 33.5% cheaper in Ardmore compared to the U.S. average.
True, groceries are only about 6% cheaper than the U.S. average, but transportation is almost 15% less expensive. Healthcare and miscellaneous goods and services are all on sale, as well.
Major employers include Michelin North America, Mercy Hospital Ardmore and Valero Energy (VLO), which operates an oil refinery in the area.
Locals who love the great outdoors can avail themselves of Lake Murray State Park, while those looking to escape the brutal summer heat can find refuge in Ardmore's Greater Southwest Historical Museum. The town is also known as the home of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, a leading agricultural research institution.
- Cost of living: 14.3% below U.S. average
- Population: 34,358
- Median household income: $57,163
- Median home price: $327,432
- Unemployment rate: 4.0%
Woodland Indians and Creek Nation initially held the area of present-day Dalton, Georgia. The first recorded European in the area was Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. Dalton is the county seat of Whitfield County. The U.S. government recently declared Dalton and Whitfield County to have more intact Civil War artifacts than any other place in the country.
Revitalization of the pre-Civil War-era craft of candlewicked fabric gave rise to a cottage chenille bedspread industry. A stretch of highway passing through Whitfield County became known colloquially as "Peacock Alley" in reference to one of the most common patterns depicted on the bedspreads. The bedspread business boomed to a multimillion-dollar industry by the 1950s and eventually gave way to the carpet industry.
Dalton is home to many of the nation's floor-covering manufacturers, primarily those producing carpet, rugs, and vinyl flooring, Dalton is often referred to as the "Carpet Capital of the World," home to over 150 carpet plants. The industry employs more than 30,000 people in the Whitfield County area. More than 90% of the functional carpet produced in the world today is made within a 65-mile radius of the Dalton.
Furnishing your home in Dalton is easy with the abundance of local carpet and textile makers. Housing is almost 20% lower than the national average. Home prices are over $180,000 cheaper and rent is $330 lower than what most people pay. Utilities and transportation are relative bargains as both are about 18% less than average.
In 2024, Georgia moved to a flat personal income tax with a rate of 5.49%. Georgia taxes most retirement income, but the state offers a hefty retirement income exclusion. And retirees should take note that there are no estate or inheritance taxes in Georgia.
- Cost of living: 14.8% below U.S. average
- Population: 20,239
- Median household income: $42,049
- Median home price: $298.858
- Unemployment rate: 5.4%
Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana and is located 45 miles east of Baton Rouge and 45 miles northwest of New Orleans. Its airport has a long runway which serves as a backup landing site for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. During World War II, the Hammond Airport (now Hammond Northshore Regional Airport) served as a detention camp for prisoners of war from Nazi Germany.
The Andouille Trail is a unique culinary byway that will introduce you to Hammond’s contribution to Louisiana cuisine, Andouille sausage. A tasty way to explore Hammond, you'll find producers with wooden smokehouses and recipes that have been handed down for generations.
Groceries don't come at a great bargain at only 4% below the national average. Fortunately, average housing and utility costs are 35%, and 20.4% lower respectively.
Among the city's cultural experiences is the Tangipahoa African American Heritage Museum. This is one of the destinations on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.
Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU), based in Hammond, is one of the state's regional universities and one of the city's largest employers. It was established in 1925 and employs 2,020 people.
Kiplinger's Louisiana State Tax Guide show that the tax profile of the state is generally favorable for many residents. There is no income tax on Social Security benefits and no estate taxes. Property taxes are among the lowest in the U.S. with the average effective property tax rate at 0.56%.
- Cost of living: 15.5% below U.S. average
- Population: 46,734
- Median household income: $56,945
- Median home price: $352,800
- Unemployment rate: 3.4%
The small town of Salina sits at the intersection of Interstates 70 and 135, about 90 miles north of Wichita and 175 miles west of Kansas City.
Manufacturing and healthcare are among the town's most important industries. Major employers include Schwan's Company, the maker of Tony's frozen pizza; Great Plains Manufacturing, which serves the agricultural industry; and the Salina Regional Health Center. Salina is also home to several institutions of higher education, including the University of Kansas School of Medicine Salina Campus and Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus.
Salina's economic mix has proven adept at delivering both low unemployment and low living costs. Housing expenses come in at roughly two-thirds of the national average, according to C2ER. Transportation is cheaper too, running about 10% less than the national average.
Locals catch breaks in lots of other ways, too. Groceries, utilities, transportation and miscellaneous goods and services all cost less than the national averages. Healthcare is the outlier and is 6% above the national average.
On the other hand, taxes are somewhat burdensome statewide. In fact, Kiplinger's Kansas State Tax Guide rates it as one of the least tax-friendly states for middle-class families, largely because of a high sales tax. Kansas is one of the nine states that tax Social Security retirement benefits.
- Cost of living: 16.7% below U.S. average
- Population: 37,939
- Median household income: $62,686
- Median home price: $393,200
- Unemployment rate: 3.2%
Tupelo, which sits 110 miles southeast of Memphis's Graceland, is best known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley. Tourists flock to the town's Elvis Presley Birthplace museum and the annual Elvis Festival held in June.
Not a fan of The King? The area's leisure and cultural scene also includes the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Park and Zoo, Tombigbee National Forest, the Tupelo National Battlefield and the Tupelo Automobile Museum, among other attractions.
Tupelo's second-largest claim to fame is arguably its super-low living costs. The comprehensive cost of living comes in at nearly 16.7% below the national average. Housing is 28% cheaper, groceries go for 5% less and locals save about 9% on transportation, 6% on healthcare and 17.5% on utilities.
For residents not making their livings as Elvis impersonators, major employers include North Mississippi Health Services and Cooper Tire & Rubber. Additionally, two regional banks — Renasant Bank (RNST) and BancorpSouth (BXS) — are headquartered in Tupelo.
- Cost of living: 18.1% below U.S. average
- Population: 35,642
- Median household income: $46,356
- Median home price: $325,000
- Unemployment rate: 5.3%
Few cities of any size can claim Richmond's place in the early history of recorded jazz. Some of the first jazz records were made in this small town, featuring greats such as Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. There's a Walk of Fame celebrating jazz and other artists who recorded with Richmond's Gennett Records.
While jazz will always be part of its history, today's Richmond, which is an hour's drive west from Dayton, Ohio, is known more for its colleges and seminaries. They include Indiana University East, the Earlham School of Religion (part of Quaker-influenced Earlham College) and the Bethany Theological Seminary.
Inexpensive housing is a key to Richmond's place among our nation's cheapest small towns. Residents spend a third less on housing than the average American does. Apartment rents are 45% lower, at $840, than the national average of $1,524. Average home prices are 36% less.
Healthcare is a bargain, too. For example, a visit to the eye doctor costs almost half the national average, while an appointment with a physician is 32% less expensive.
- Cost of living: 18.2% below U.S. average
- Population: 20,610
- Median household income: $42,371
- Median home price: $418,800
- Unemployment rate: 4.4%
Pittsburg is about a two-and-a-half-hour drive due south from Kansas City on Route 69. When you get there, you'll find a small town with a cost of living more than 13% below the national average.
Once upon a time, the town was known for its abundance of coal and the Southern and Eastern European immigrants who worked the mines. Today, the area relies more heavily on higher education, thanks to the presence of Pittsburg State University. Famous alumni of Pittsburg's local university include actor Gary Busey and Brian Moorman, retired two-time Pro Bowl punter for the NFL's Buffalo Bills.
Other major employers include transportation company Watco, and Via Christi Hospital medical center.
As for leisure activities, tiny Pittsburg doesn't lack for family-friendly things to do. Area highlights include Lakeside Park, the Crawford County Historical Museum and the Pittsburg Aquatic Center.
Although median incomes are well below the national average, average home prices are a whopping $89,800 cheaper. All told, housing costs are 27.5% lower than what the typical American pays. Myriad other items are economical, as well. Miscellaneous goods and services run about 18.4% cheaper in Pittsburg. A movie ticket, for example, averages about seven bucks.
- Cost of living: 20.6% below U.S. average
- Population: 24,441
- Median household income: $51,367
- Median home price: $340,000
- Unemployment rate: 4.4%
Ponca City traces its lineage back to the days of the Land Run of 1893, when pioneers decided to build a town in north-central Oklahoma near the Arkansas River and a freshwater spring.
Not long after its founding, enterprising oil men successfully drilled wells in the area, and Ponca City remains an oil town to this day. Some of the area's largest employers include energy firms such as Schlumberger (SLB), ConocoPhillips (COP) and Phillips 66 (PSX).
Local attractions include the Marland Mansion, which was built by oil baron E.W. Marland in the early 20th century. It's now a museum. Dedicated in 1930, the Pioneer Woman Statute, a 30-foot-tall monument of a pioneer woman holding a young child, is also not to be missed.
Household incomes are well below the national median, but housing is a heck of a deal. The median price of a Ponca City home is just $340,000. Nationally, it's $508,666. Indeed, total housing costs are roughly just two-thirds of what the average American pays, according to C2ER's Cost of Living Index. Residents also catch a break on all manner of miscellaneous goods and services, which are are 20% lower, the discount on healthcare is 13.8% and groceries are a smidge cheaper at 6% below the national average.
Although it's among the cheapest small towns in America, Ponca City's low costs of living do come at a cost: The town sits pretty much smack dab in the middle of Tornado Alley.
