America: Top 10 Most Affordable Locations To Live Well

Forbes.com has looked for affordable locations in America that offer a good quality of life. Minneapolis took the top spot on the list of Most Affordable Places To Live Well. Houses in Minneapolis are relatively affordable, residents enjoy a high quality of life and access to choice arts, leisure and entertainment offerings.

The Methodology
The Forbes rankings incorporate a variety of criteria. They looked at at housing affordability in the country’s 50 largest metros, and considered spending on goods such as energy, clothing and food. To determine quality of life, the Forbes index used 2006 Census figures that measured quality of schools, quality of health care, crime and poverty rates. Finally, Forbes used data from Sperling’s Best Places that identifies the country’s best arts and leisure destinations, measuring a wide range of entertainment options from music venues and museums to professional sports teams and miles of shoreline.

The top ten locations are listed below:

1. Minneapolis
   The “City of Lakes”. A large variety of companies donate huge sums of money to the city’s schools, cultural institutions and health services. This positively affects the quality of life and the arts and leisure choices. Housing and cost of living are both affordable, but aren’t dramatically below national averages.
2. Indianapolis
   Indianapolis has a higher percentage of homes available to the median-earning household than any other city. When it comes to arts and leisure activities, Indianapolis may not live up to standards set by New York or Los Angeles, but what is available has an affordable price tag: Indianapolis ranks as the 13th cheapest city to live in.
3. Cincinnati
   The Queen City is one of the most affordable in the country, in terms of cost of living and housing. Median-earning residents here can afford 76.5% of the homes on the market. Not that they need it (it’s the fifth cheapest city to live in), but housing affordability leaves Cincinnatians with plenty of cash on hand.
4. St. Louis
   What makes St. Louis a desirable housing market isn’t simply the 76% of homes that are available to the median buyer, but its relatively stability; The area isn’t as bogged down in risky loans and defaults as other Midwestern cities. The Gateway to the West has a strong ratio of parks and restaurants to citizens and is the 15th cheapest city in which to live.
5. Houston
   One of the country’s fastest-growing cities, Houston has added nearly 1 million new people since 2000. Housing affordability and a strong job market seem enough to lure people from all over the country. The city has invested millions over the last five years in expanding infrastructure by adding trains, bolstering the downtown business district and funding the arts, which has helped the city to centralise. It also helps that on an everyday cost basis, among the cities studied, Houston is the cheapest place to live.
6. Milwaukee
   Milwaukee has a strong tradition of charitable giving and civic involvement; both have helped create cultural institutions and fund the arts. In Sperling’s Best Places rank, the city is 21st for its combination of museums, sports outlets, libraries, universities and parks. Cost of living sits at about the national average.
7. Dallas
   Like Houston, Dallas is one of the fastest growing cities in the country, with domestic migrants leading the way. The city itself is a bit more centralised than Houston, has better air quality and better access to public transportation via its DART train. It trails Houston slightly when it comes to cultural institutions like museums, libraries, parks, sports, theatres and universities. Cost of living is slightly higher in Dallas, which was the main reason it ranked behind Houston.
8. Pittsburgh
   There’s a lot more to Pittsburgh than its post-industrial reputation and the hometown Steelers football team. Institutions like the Carnegie Museum, the Andy Warhol Museum and the Mattress Factory (a contemporary art museum) enrich the city’s art scene. The area’s cost of living is actually a touch above the national average but housing is the 11th most affordable in the country.
9. Columbus, Ohio
   Home to Ohio State, the biggest university in the country, Columbus offers residents access to the top-notch facilities that come with such a huge institution. The city scores well in health care, based on access to the Ohio State University Medical Centre, especially the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, which are top national centres. Cost of living is just below the national average, and 76.4% of homes sold last quarter were available to the median-income earner, making it the seventh most affordable real estate market of the 50 measured.
10. Atlanta
    Atlanta is a case study in how land use and development can be managed to keep housing prices affordable. More houses have sold in Atlanta over the last five years than just about anywhere else in the country, and it’s the nation’s fastest growing city of more than 5 million people. Quality-of-life rankings and arts and leisure marks are toward the middle, but the city ranks 11th best when it comes to cost of living.