re: 12 Cheapest States to Live in for 2025

Missouri is fantastic if you're at least an hour from St Louis or Kansas City. Grew up there and my dad lives on the Lake of the Ozarks there. Of the places I've lived, I would definitely consider moving back to rural Missouri.

To each their own. I've been to Alabama and parts of it are nice, for sure. After having lived 1/3 mile from the beach before, I'm over the beach. Give me land as far as the eye can see that belongs to me. No neighbors, no rules and no regulations.

I still like the ocean and I still love to scuba dive, but I don't want to live near an ocean and deal with storms and high insurance and shite like that.

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Out of this list, I would choose to live in the following states:

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4. Arkansas (NW)

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Average home in NWA is about 425k though. Well over the 195 state average.

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I've been to Alabama and parts of it are nice, for sure. After having lived 1/3 mile from the beach before, I'm over the beach. Give me land as far as the eye can see that belongs to me. No neighbors, no rules and no regulations.

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Preach! Except I'm still in Alabama. We found 20 acres in the school system we wanted, with a shitty 2k sqft house on it.

Secluded in the woods, have a pond, chickens, pool, and hot tub. You can't see another house, road, anything from my property. Truly secluded and it is my happy place.

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Yeah, would have expected Louisiana to be on that list.

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I would have thought so too before I moved back here. Insurance, sales tax, cost of groceries, etc. is way more than I expected or remembered. We moved here from Ohio and were a little shocked at the cost of living here, and I'm in North Louisiana.

Another site has us 10th in affordability.


Biggest diff in their list is Tenn is 18th in affordability and GA is 25th.




Another has us 13th...

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13. Louisiana
The Pelican State is number 13 when it comes to cost of living. The state’s typical home value is $199,605, a 2.1% decrease over the past year. Renters statewide pay a median of $1,500 per month and the median annual wage is $41,320.

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But how are we much diff than say this...

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1. Arkansas
The Natural State is number one when it comes to cost of living. The state’s typical home value is $209,251, a 3.1% increase over the past year. Renters statewide pay a median of $1,395 per month and the median annual wage is $39,060.

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We have higher income, lower priced homes to purchase, but higher rent.

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. Mississippi
The Magnolia State is number two when it comes to cost of living. The state’s typical home value is $178,495, a 0.9% increase over the past year. Renters statewide pay a median of $1,480 per month and the median annual wage is $37,500.

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Louisiana is stupidly expensive to live in despite the fact we are a shithole.

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But our metrics look no different than a ms or arkansas


And us 3 states with texas consistently have the lowest gas prices in the country.


And Arkansas has income tax, like we do.




Yahoo finance has Arkansas at 86 col, MS at 87 col and LA at 88 col.



Ohio at 91, texas at 97, GA at 96, tn at 92.

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5 states with the lowest cost of living
Arkansas: 86.5
Arkansas holds the title of the state with the lowest cost of living — 13.5% lower than the national average. This is thanks, in large part, to low housing costs. In fact, Arkansas has some of the least expensive housing in the country, only behind Mississippi and West Virginia. Even so, personal expenditures in the state rose a modest 1.9% year over year.

Mississippi: 87.3
Mississippi’s cost of living is 12.7% lower than the national average. Personal expenditures increased just over 1% year over year, and housing and utility costs remain some of the lowest in the country.

South Dakota: 88.1
South Dakota’s cost of living is 11.9% below the national average. Like other states on this list, South Dakota's affordable housing market plays a major role in maintaining its lower overall price levels.

Oklahoma: 88.3
The cost of living in Oklahoma is also 11.7% below the national average. In addition to lower housing costs, Oklahoma benefits from relatively low prices on goods and services, contributing to its overall lower cost of living.

Louisiana: 88.3
Louisiana has one of the lowest costs of living at 11.7% below the national average. The state benefits from low housing costs, as well as some of the cheapest goods in the country.

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Louisiana was fairly expensive to live in, considering the average annual income most people make.

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The rising cost in auto and homeowners insurance will drive me out of this shithole state

Curious how much Yankees driving up coastal SC prices jacks up the state. Seems it should make the list otherwise.

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Arkansas might be "cheap" to live but the combined state and sales taxes really take a chunk out of your arse according to this article:

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You should see the liquor tax when you eat out in the Bentonville area. It’s freaking absurd and there’s not a ton of information on it.