Most Affordable Cities, Little Rock, Arkansas Leads (2026)

Name: Most affordable cities and states, The Honest Local
Creator: The Honest Local
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Little Rock, Arkansas is the most affordable of the 106 US cities we rank, with an Affordability Score of 79.9 out of 100 (Zillow, Census, BEA, 2026). Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is next, with an Affordability Score of 72.8.

By The Honest Local · 106 cities · every value links to its public source

79.9Little Rock, Arkansas leads on The Honest Local Affordability Score, 106 cities, the 100 largest metro areas and every city we coverWhat a household actually pays for a home, the basics and taxes, weighed against what people there earn, blended into one number.

The top five cities Affordability Score out of 100, and the readings behind it

No. 1Little Rock, Arkansas79.979.9 score (0-100, higher = more affordable)
No. 2Oklahoma City, Oklahoma72.872.8 score (0-100, higher = more affordable)
No. 3Indianapolis, Indiana72.472.4 score (0-100, higher = more affordable)
No. 4Baton Rouge, Louisiana71.971.9 score (0-100, higher = more affordable)
No. 5Chattanooga, Tennessee71.771.6 score (0-100, higher = more affordable)

Most Affordable Cities on the map

Affordability Score, cities hover for the numbers, click for every one

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The Honest Local's own recipe, housing and everyday costs weighed against local income and taxes, blended into one score, with cities and states ranked separately.

Most Affordable Cities, all 106

The full ranking most score, 0 to 100

	Place	Affordability Scoreout of 100	Housing	Everyday	Taxes
1	Little Rock, Arkansas	79.9	8989	9191	5959
2	Oklahoma City, Oklahomabig city	72.8	9494	8181	4343
3	Indianapolis, Indianabig city	72.4	8585	7474	5858
4	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	71.9	4747	9494	7575
5	Chattanooga, Tennessee	71.7	5454	8888	7474
6	Louisville, Kentuckybig city	71.4	8181	7777	5656
7	McAllen, Texas	71.3	8282	8282	5050
8	Memphis, Tennesseebig city	70.9	7777	7474	6161
9	Huntsville, Alabama	70	8686	5656	6868
10	Nashville, Tennesseebig city	69.5	4444	7979	8686
11	Jacksonville, Floridabig city	69.3	6767	6565	7676
11	Phoenix, Arizonabig city	69.3	6767	5454	8787
13	San Antonio, Texasbig city	68.8	7777	7979	5050
14	Tulsa, Oklahomabig city	68.4	7979	8282	4545
15	Austin, Texasbig city	67.6	6969	7979	5656
16	Colorado Springs, Coloradobig city	67.4	6363	6464	7575
17	Des Moines, Iowa	66.8	9696	6969	3636
18	Toledo, Ohiobig city	66.7	8383	7373	4545
19	Wichita, Kansasbig city	66.3	9494	7272	3333
20	New Orleans, Louisianabig city	66	4444	9393	6161
21	Columbus, Ohiobig city	65.4	7777	7070	4949
22	Akron, Ohio	65.1	7676	7575	4545
23	Cape Coral, Florida	65	5858	6868	6969
24	Fayetteville, Arkansas	63.9	3030	8888	7373
24	Tampa, Floridabig city	63.9	4343	7575	7474
26	Greenville, South Carolina	63.6	6565	6969	5757
27	Raleigh, North Carolinabig city	63.2	6969	6060	6262
28	Lakeland, Florida	63.1	4242	7070	7777
29	Las Vegas, Nevadabig city	63	4343	5555	9191
30	Charlotte, North Carolinabig city	62.4	6666	5959	6262
31	Kansas City, Missouribig city	61.7	8484	6363	3838
32	Omaha, Nebraskabig city	61.3	8181	7474	2929
33	Boise, Idaho	61.2	4545	8080	5959
34	Daytona Beach, Florida	60.9	3636	6565	8181
35	Ogden, Utah	60.7	6565	5454	6363
36	Durham, North Carolinabig city	60.6	7070	5858	5555
37	Melbourne, Florida	60.5	3535	6565	8282
38	Orlando, Floridabig city	60.4	4141	6969	7272
39	Jackson, Mississippi	60.3	6060	7878	4343
40	Dayton, Ohio	60.2	6262	7575	4444
41	Birmingham, Alabama	59.6	6161	5858	6060
42	Reno, Nevadabig city	59.4	3131	5454	9494
43	Denver, Coloradobig city	59.3	6060	4444	7474
44	Greensboro, North Carolinabig city	58.9	6767	5959	5151
45	Houston, Texasbig city	58.6	6464	5757	5454
46	Knoxville, Tennessee	58.2	1111	8080	8484
47	Columbia, South Carolina	57.9	5353	6767	5353
48	Sarasota, Florida	57.4	2121	7070	8080
49	Dallas, Texasbig city	56.9	6666	5252	5353
50	El Paso, Texasbig city	56.5	5959	6464	4747
51	Salt Lake City, Utah	55.2	4343	5454	6969
51	Tucson, Arizonabig city	55.2	3838	5151	7676
53	Charleston, South Carolina	54.3	3131	7070	6363
54	Cincinnati, Ohiobig city	54.1	4545	6868	4949
54	Winston-Salem, North Carolinabig city	54.1	5353	5757	5353
56	Augusta, Georgia	52.8	no reading	6767	3838
57	Asheville, North Carolina	52.4	3535	5656	6666
58	Cleveland, Ohiobig city	52.3	5151	6363	4343
59	Atlanta, Georgiabig city	52	6262	5353	4040
60	Grand Rapids, Michigan	51.8	6262	4848	4545
61	Virginia Beach, Virginiabig city	51.5	6464	4545	4545
62	Provo, Utah	50.6	2828	5454	7070
63	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniabig city	50.4	7272	2323	5656
64	Albuquerque, New Mexicobig city	50	6060	5353	3737
65	Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniabig city	48.1	5353	3232	6060
66	Seattle, Washingtonbig city	45.6	5353	3434	4949
66	Spokane, Washington	45.6	5050	3535	5252
68	St. Louis, Missouribig city	45.1	4646	5050	4040
69	Savannah, Georgia	44.9	2121	6868	4646
70	Minneapolis, Minnesotabig city	44.8	7676	3535	2323
71	Madison, Wisconsinbig city	43.5	5959	5757	1515
72	Vancouver, Washington	42.9	4343	3333	5353
73	Milwaukee, Wisconsinbig city	40.7	5151	5858	1313
74	Richmond, Virginia	40.4	3535	4747	3939
75	Washington, DCbig city	40.1	5656	1717	4848
76	Miami, Floridabig city	39.1	1.82	4848	6868
77	Baltimore, Marylandbig city	38.5	6060	3232	2424
78	Detroit, Michiganbig city	37.9	5454	2626	3434
79	Portland, Oregonbig city	36.5	5757	2525	2727
80	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	32.1	3030	2929	3737
81	Chicago, Illinoisbig city	30.4	4343	1717	3131
82	Allentown, Pennsylvania	28.7	1919	3030	3737
83	Bakersfield, Californiabig city	28.5	5656	6.67	2222
83	Sacramento, Californiabig city	28.5	4747	6.46	3333
85	Buffalo, New Yorkbig city	28.4	3737	2424	2424
86	Stockton, Californiabig city	28	4242	77	3535
87	Boston, Massachusettsbig city	26.1	4.55	2525	4949
88	Hartford, Connecticut	25.3	3232	2929	1414
89	Riverside, Californiabig city	24.9	2222	9.710	4343
90	Fresno, Californiabig city	24.3	3232	5.66	3535
91	Providence, Rhode Island	24.1	1111	3232	2929
92	Albany, New York	22.6	3737	2424	6.57
93	Worcester, Massachusetts	22.4	1616	2929	2222
94	Portland, Maine	22.2	1313	2727	2626
95	San Jose, Californiabig city	21.7	2727	6.26	3232
96	Honolulu, Hawaiibig city	21.6	8.28	3.13	5353
97	Syracuse, New York	21.2	3333	2525	5.56
98	Oxnard, California	19.9	1414	7.98	3838
98	San Diego, Californiabig city	19.9	1717	3.23	4040
100	Rochester, New York	18.4	2626	2424	5.86
101	New Haven, Connecticut	17.6	1111	2929	1313
102	Bridgeport, Connecticut	16.3	1111	2626	1212
103	Los Angeles, Californiabig city	15.4	3.23	3.84	3939
104	San Francisco, Californiabig city	14.6	55	2.42	3636
105	New York, New Yorkbig city	14.2	0.40	1212	3030
106	Poughkeepsie, New York	11.1	1818	7.78	7.47

Sources and method

How we got this. The Affordability Score is The Honest Local’s own recipe. Each source ranks every place on its own from 0 to 100 and the score is the average, so a place has to do well on all of them to lead. We don't publish a cost of living number pulled from one source. We blend three groups, each ranked on its own against every other place that has it, then averaged. Housing is the typical rent over a year and the typical home value, each as a share of the median household income there. Everyday costs are the federal price parity for goods, the best free read on groceries and basics at the metro level, plus the price of gas and of household electricity. Taxes are the combined state and local sales tax, the top state income tax rate on wages (Washington taxes only capital gains, so it reads zero) and the effective property tax rate. Each of those eight figures ranks every place on its own from 0 to 100, with a lower cost or tax always scoring higher. A group's score is the average of the figures it has, and the final score is the average of the three groups. A place missing a whole group is scored on the rest, never handed a fake zero. Rank 1 is the most affordable. Cities and states rank as two separate lists, never against each other. It refreshes monthly, with the yearly figures (income, price parities, tax rates) updated as each agency publishes.

Rankings by The Honest Local from public data, one page per list, refreshed on each source’s own cycle. Places with no reading are left out rather than estimated. Every value on this page carries its source in the page’s structured data.

Photos Shutterstock · More Than Just Parks.