What US Cities Have the Lowest Cost of Living and a High Employment Rate?

Question by someone,somewhere: What US cities have the lowest cost of living and a high employment rate?
I currently live in Los Angeles county, which has a high cost of living. I’m thinking about moving out of state but can’t really decide where. Any information you would like to contribute about where you live, the cost of living, employment ratios, quality of living, etc would be greatly appreciated! I’m looking for a nice area where I can easily get a job. (I do office work – Administrative and Customer Service oriented. My husband does pest control.) Someplace where the cost of housing is affordable, where there aren’t a bunch of bums, poor people or gangs. A place that isn’t too conservative (we have a lot of tattoos and want to be accepted by our neighbors). Nice weather,maybe a little snow but not so much that you get snowed in all the time. I’d love to be near a lake or the ocean. I’ve pretty much eliminated Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada (all too hot), Utah (too many Mormons), Alabama, Georgia and Florida. I’ve been considering North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma.
Thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by phemy
You are looking for “Someplace where the cost of housing is affordable, where there aren’t a bunch of bums, poor people or gangs,” yet anyplace that has affordable housing is a magnet for poor people, because otherwise housing is not affordable. Also, stay away from the oceanside if you want to avoid beach bums and surf gangs. If you want to avoid poor people at all costs you will have to move to a gated community or pay for a private island since 90 percent of U.S. citizens are poor.

Using figures from the last quarter of 2005, the Missouri Department of Economic Development MERIC index lists these states with the lowest cost of living:
1. Arkansas
2. Oklahoma
3. Nebraska
4. Texas
5. Mississippi
6. Missouri
7. Tennessee
8. Alabama
9. Kentucky
10. Georgia
11. North Dakota
12. Kansas
13. Idaho
14. Iowa
15. Indiana
16. South Dakota
17. North Carolina
18. West Virginia
19. Wisconsin
20. Louisiana
Two of your top three destinations are on that list, #2 Oklahoma and #17 North Carolina. Pennsylvania came in 31st, mainly because of excessive utility costs.

Retirement Living.com has an overview of state taxes that will help this analysis. All states except Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon, collect sales taxes. States with the highest sales tax are: California (7.25%), Mississippi (7.0%), Tennessee (7.0%), Rhode Island (7.0%), Minnesota (6.5%), and Washington (6.5%). Many states do not tax prescription drugs, and some do not tax food or clothing or over-the-counter drugs.
Regarding income tax, New Hampshire and Tennessee tax only interest and dividends. Seven states (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming) do not tax personal income. The states with the lowest local property taxes per capita/year are Arkansas ($ 191), Alabama ($ 285), Kentucky ($ 376), New Mexico ($ 380), and Oklahoma ($ 425). The states with the highest local property taxes per capita/year are New Jersey ($ 1,871), Connecticut ($ 1,733), New York ($ 1,402), and Rhode Island ($ 1,369).
With such low property taxes, Oklahoma remains a good option for your move.

Based on 2005 data, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has a chart of tax burdens by state which includes the mean per capita incomes. This reveals these states with the average highest incomes:
1. Washington, D.C.
2. Connecticut
3. Massachusetts
4. New Jersey
5. Maryland
6. New York
7. New Hampshire
8. Virginia
9. Colorado
10. Minnesota
The average taxable income for Oklahoma residents is $ 32,661; for North Carolina lodgers $ 33,732; and for Pennsylvanians $ 38,841.

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