Which Are the Most Affordable States to Live In Right Now?

For the second quarter of 2026, the most affordable states to live in are Oklahoma, Alabama, Iowa, West Virginia, and Kansas, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. Oklahoma sits at an index of 83.0, meaning the cost of living there runs about 17 percent below the national average. Housing is doing most of that work: Oklahoma’s housing index is 65.1, roughly a third below the national figure. Groceries, utilities, and healthcare vary far less between states than rent does, which is why where you live changes your budget mostly through what you pay for a roof.

Key Terms to Know

Cost of living index: A single number comparing what a standard basket of goods and services costs in one place against the national average. The national average is set at 100. An index of 83.0 means things cost about 17 percent less than average; an index of 115 means about 15 percent more.

Housing index: The same idea applied to housing costs alone. This is the component that moves the most between states, and the one that matters most to renters.

National average: Not a national price. It is the midpoint of the participating cities, so a state index is an average of averages and will not match any particular neighborhood.

The Most Affordable States to Live in for 2026

The MERIC cost of living data series is updated quarterly using the Council for Community and Economic Research survey, which makes it one of the few state-by-state comparisons that is genuinely current rather than recycled from a two-year-old press release.

For the second quarter of 2026, the ten lowest states are Oklahoma (83.0), Alabama (86.0), Iowa (86.1), West Virginia (87.0), Kansas (87.1), Mississippi (87.4), Missouri (88.2), Arkansas (89.0), Indiana (89.7), and Tennessee (89.7).

The pattern is regional. The least expensive places to live are clustered through the Midwest and the South. The most expensive are Hawaii, Alaska, the Northeast, and the West Coast. If you are renting on either coast and wondering why the math never quite works, this is a large part of the answer.

Housing Is Doing Almost All of the Work

Look at the components and the story sharpens considerably.

Take Oklahoma. Its grocery index is 94.1 and its healthcare index is 96.7, both within a few points of the national average. Its housing index is 65.1. The savings are not spread evenly across your life. They are concentrated almost entirely in rent.

The same holds elsewhere. Mississippi’s housing index is 70.8. Iowa’s is 70.6. Kansas comes in at 78.7 and Missouri at 77.7. Meanwhile groceries across all of these states sit between 94 and 97, meaning your weekly shop costs roughly what it costs anywhere.

This is worth internalizing before you move, because it sets a realistic expectation. Relocating to a cheaper state will noticeably change your housing costs and barely touch most other line items.

What the Index Does Not Tell You

An index is a comparison of prices, not a description of a life. Four things it leaves out matter enormously.

Wages move too. Lower costs frequently come with lower salaries. The number that decides whether you are better off is what you have left after housing, not the index itself. If a move cuts your rent by 30 percent and your pay by 25 percent, the gain is much smaller than the headline suggests.

Getting there costs money. A move is a real expense arriving in a single month, and it eats into the first year of savings. Our breakdown of what moving actually costs is worth reading before you commit to the idea.

Averages hide neighborhoods. A state index averages participating cities. The desirable parts of an affordable state can cost considerably more than the state figure implies, and the cheapest parts may be cheap for reasons that matter to you.

A place has to fit. Proximity to family, a job market in your field, healthcare access, climate, and whether you can imagine building a life there are not in the index and will decide whether the move actually works.

The Census Bureau’s 2026 population estimates analysis found that domestic migration was the largest component of population change in sixteen states, up from nine the year before. People are moving between states in greater numbers, but that is a description of a trend, not a recommendation that you join it.

Is Moving to One of the Most Affordable States Right for You?

Compare like with like. Take your current rent and your realistic rent in the specific city you are considering, not the state. Then take your realistic income there. Subtract housing from income in both scenarios and see which leaves more. That difference, multiplied over a year and set against the cost of the move, is the actual decision.

And if the answer is that you are staying put, that is a legitimate outcome. Plenty of renters find the honest calculation shows the coast is worth it. Our guide to renting in a high-cost city is written for exactly that situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cheapest state to live in right now?

Oklahoma, with an overall index of 83.0 for the second quarter of 2026, about 17 percent below the national average. Its housing index of 65.1 is the lowest in the country.

Are groceries much cheaper in affordable states?

Not really. Grocery indexes in the ten most affordable states mostly sit between 94 and 98, so you might save a few percent. Housing is where the meaningful difference lives.

Will moving to a cheaper state actually leave me better off?

It depends on what happens to your income. Compare income minus housing in both places rather than comparing rent alone, and factor in what the move itself costs in the first year.

Does my rental history follow me when I move states?

Your credit history does, and that is what most landlords check. RentRX reports your on-time rent payments to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, so the record you build in one state is still working for you when you apply somewhere new.

Live On Your Own Terms

RentRX is on the renter’s side, however you choose to live, with practical guidance and credit built from the rent you already pay, wherever you call home this month. Explore more at the RentRX News Nest.

Final Hoot of Wisdom

The Bottom Line

Affordability is not a destination on a map, it is the gap between what comes in and what goes out. A cheaper state widens that gap for a lot of renters, but only once you have counted the wages, the move, and the neighborhood rather than the state average. Run your own numbers against your own life. Whooo’s ready to soar to new heights?