New Report: This City Has the Lowest Cost of Living in the U.S.

If you find yourself dreaming about living in a city that is both affordable and growing, you’re not alone. Everything—and we mean everything—seems to be getting more expensive by the day.

Even going out for a burger, fries and a soda isn’t the affordable family meal it used to be, and many people—singles and families alike—are wondering how to afford the basics when the cost of living seems to increase on the daily.

Lucky for us, Niche.com, a ranking and review site, dug into the data to uncover the cities with the lowest cost of living in the U.S. Read on to find out where it is.

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What U.S. city has the lowest cost of living?

You might be looking for the best state to live in, or you might be looking for the place where your dollar stretches a bit further. If it’s the latter, take a look at Brownsville, Texas, the southernmost city in the Lone Star State, where the cost of living is the lowest in the country.

Brownsville is located in Cameron County, where the Rio Grande meets the Gulf of Mexico. In 2023, it had a population of roughly 190,158, though as you’ll see below, that number is growing. Liz Vera—a Brownsville native, former high school teacher and current realtor running her own business—says the city’s motto is “Brownsville, Texas … on the border, by the sea,” which is the local’s favorite way of describing the city’s unique location.

How was the study conducted?

To compile this list of U.S. cities with the lowest cost of living, Niche conducted a comprehensive assessment of each area’s affordability. Niche examined factors such as home values, housing costs-to-income ratio, food and gas prices, and median tax rates. Statistics were obtained using up-to-date data from the U.S. Census, Department of Education, FBI and other sources.

Niche ensured statistical integrity through rigorous evaluation of the data to verify the numbers are comparable, then produced a standardized score and weighted each factor. The weighting process ensures that each place’s final score accurately represents its merit and that no single factor swayed the outcome one way or another.

Why did Brownsville, Texas, earn the top spot?

Between affordable real estate, an attractive job market and great schools, Brownsville has a lot going for it. Let’s explore the factors that contributed to Brownsville earning the top spot for the lowest cost of living in the U.S.

Reasonable real estate

Real estate prices are still going up in many parts of the country, and while some cities are more expensive than others, many Americans feel they’ll never be able to afford home ownership. Enter, Brownsville. Brownsville is still a reasonable place to own a home, and Niche ranked this Texas city No. 16 on their list of best cities in the U.S. to buy a house.

The median home price in Brownsville is $122,400, a whopping 60% less than the national average of $303,400. For people who prefer to rent, the average rent in Brownsville is $906 compared with the national average of $1,348.

Vera says that Brownsville has historically been affordable, but these days, nine out of ten calls her office fields are from out-of-state. “It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” she says. “Prices are going up.” A look at the listings shows you can still get a lot of house for the money in Brownsville, especially compared with other parts of the state, but that’s changing as bigger companies create jobs there, including SpaceX, which is based 40 minutes away in the recently renamed town of Starbase.

“A house that was $275,000 before SpaceX came to town is now around $420,000,” says Brownsville native Bruno H. Zavaleta, III, founder and owner of Zavaleta Realty.

Solid job market

Brownsville’s job market is more than solid—it’s booming. Historically, the biggest employers in the city were the school district and government employers working the border crossing, but times have changed, and this once-small town on the Mexican border has transformed into a tech, energy and aerospace hub.

Things started shifting in Brownsville almost as soon as Elon Musk announced that SpaceX was moving to the town now known as Starbase, formerly called Boca Chica Village or Kopernik Shores. SpaceX’s Starbase includes a spaceport, production facility and test site. The construction, which began in 2014, generated numerous local jobs, and the facility has continued to grow and expand since then.

Brownsville is also experiencing a significant influx of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)-related jobs due to the Rio Grande LNG and Texas LNG projects, both of which are located at the Port of Brownsville. The construction jobs number around 5,000 for each facility, plus there are thousands of long-term operational roles, not to mention the influx of money to the area from all these jobs.

Amazon recently broke ground on a 62,000-square-foot facility that will serve as a logistics center. Brownsville is experiencing a boom in jobs in a variety of industries, and this diversification is positive for the local economy. Another plus is that while some of these positions are specialized, many don’t require a college degree, making the entry point accessible to more people, both longtime residents and newcomers alike.

Great for families

Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Getty Images

If you have school-age kids, quality of education is a factor when considering where to raise your family, and Brownsville ranks high in this category. Niche also analyzed the U.S. cities with the best public schools, and Brownsville earned a B+ overall in this category, ranking 71st out of 229 cities. Because the majority of Brownsville’s population is Latino, students have the option to enroll in English or bilingual classes, which are taught in both Spanish and English. The district also has a strong English as a Second Language (ESL) program.

Vera worked as a high school English teacher for 35 years, and she loves that families have options that include regular public schools, IDEA schools and private schools. In recent years, Brownsville’s school district has received considerable donations from Elon Musk, who donated $20 million to Cameron County schools, which include Brownsville. Additionally, Musk donated $10 million to help revitalize Brownsville’s downtown area, which was already being revamped by a new mayor bringing vibrancy back to the city.

“We actually have a ramen place downtown now,” Vera says, while Zavaleta is excited about the Barnes & Noble coming to town. “Downtown had been a dying ember with a few tumbleweeds blowing around,” Vera says.

Diverse population

“Brownsville is a true melting pot,” Zavaleta says, and that’s not an exaggeration, but he adds that the city is primarily Latino and not exactly diverse, though it is a multicultural border town.

Brownsville is adjacent to its sister city, Matamoros, Mexico, and both Vera and Zavaleta fondly recall walking across the border when they were kids to spend the day enjoying the culture, the music and of course the Mexican food. Border crossings are no longer casual, and Vera says she hasn’t crossed over in 20 years, though she’s hopeful that things will improve in that department and we can “come together as a nation and as a planet.”

Each year, Brownsville has a special celebration called Charro Days, which is an annual fiesta celebrating the Mexican culture and heritage on both sides of the Rio Grande. Charro Days started in 1938 to foster community between Matamoros and Brownsville, and it continues to be a metaphorical bridge and an important part of Brownsville’s current culture. The pre-Lenten, four-day fiesta is held every year and includes parades with floats and horses, traditional dance and dress, arts and crafts, music and food, fireworks and several contests, including a jalapeño eating contest.

What other cities earned a top spot on the list?

Niche ranked 229 cities, and after Brownsville, Wichita Falls, Texas, Evansville, Indiana, and South Bend, Indiana, received high rankings for affordability. Here’s a closer look at what contributed to these cities’ manageable cost of living.

Wichita Falls, Texas

Wichita Falls, Texas, came in second but ranked closely with Brownsville in almost all categories. Both cities earned a C grade for crime, but a deeper look into the data shows significantly more crime in Wichita Falls. In another Niche report, Wichita Falls ranked No. 7 for the best place to buy a house. Residents say it feels like a sweet spot between a small town and a big city.

Evansville, Indiana

Evansville, Indiana, is also a great place to live for a manageable cost of living, but two areas where it falls short are jobs and crime. Evansville has a suburban feel, but it’s its own place and is the commercial, medical, educational and cultural hub for the Indiana/Kentucky/Illinois tristate region. The majority of Evansville’s residents own their homes, and the schools earn high rankings.

South Bend, Indiana

South Bend, Indiana, is rated by residents as one of the best places to live in Indiana, and Niche ranked it No. 10 in the best-place-to-buy-a-house report. South Bend scored high for commute, diversity, cost of living and access to outdoor activities, but it did score a D+ for crime and safety. The city has an abundance of parks and bike lanes, which residents say contribute to a great quality of life. South Bend is also home to Notre Dame, which contributes to diversity and cultural opportunities.

What other cities made the list?

Here are the top 15 cities that earned an A or A- for cost of living.

1. Brownsville, Texas
2. Wichita Falls, Texas
3. Evansville, Indiana
4. South Bend, Indiana
5. Dayton, Ohio
6. Toledo, Ohio
7. Fort Wayne, Indiana
8. Springfield, Illinois
9. McAllen, Texas
10. Beaumont, Texas
11. Montgomery, Alabama
12. Laredo, Texas
13. Akron, Ohio
14. Amarillo, Texas
15. Abilene, Texas

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Sources:

• Niche: “2025 Cities with the Lowest Cost of Living in America”
• United States Census Bureau: “Quick Facts Brownsville City, Texas”
• Pro Texas Industry: “Amazon Joins Brownsville’s transformation into a tech, energy, and aerospace powerhouse”
• SpaceX: “Updates”
• The Hill: “Elon Musk donating $30M to schools, city near his new Texas ‘Starbase'”
• Liz Vera, broker/owner of Liz Realty, LLC
• Bruno H. Zavaleta, III, MBA, founder and owner of Zavaleta Realty

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