These Are The Cheapest Places To Live Near NYC
It’s no secret that living in NYC comes with a hefty price tag, and as much as we hate those “I can live in a mansion in Texas for what you pay for a studio in NYC” people, it is true–there are definitely more reasonably priced places to live outside of the city, and this new report proves it.
The Demographia International Housing Affordability report assesses housing affordability in 94 major cities in eight different countries–Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the United States–and in the 2024 edition two New York cities made it to the top ten.
To reach a conclusion, house price data is estimated from sources reporting on housing types representing the majority of existing dwellings in each nation. Each city is ranked based on a price-to-income ratio that divides the median house price by the median household income, referred to as the Median Multiple.
A median multiple of 3.0 and under is considered affordable, a multiple of 3.1 to 4.0 is considered moderately unaffordable, and a multiple of 9.0 and over is considered impossibly unaffordable. Not one of the 94 cities scored a 3.0 or under.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was determined to be the most affordable city to live–just about a 6 hour drive from NYC–with a median multiple of 3.1. This is nearly 75% more affordable than the most unaffordable market in the US: San Jose.
Following closely behind is the New York city of Rochester–with a bit of a shorter drive from NYC clocking in at about 5 hours–with a median multiple of 3.4.
Buffalo, meanwhile, tied for fifth place with three other cities–Edmonton, AB, Detroit, MI, and Oklahoma City, OK–all with a median multiple of 3.6.
Accounting for the rest of the most affordable ten markets is St. Louis, MO-IL at 3.4, Cleveland, OH at 3.5, Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN with 3.7, and Louisville, KY-IN with 3.7.
As for where New York City ranked, it came in way, way down at the bottom at 77th.
As for what’s causing the present cost-of-living crisis, the report writes that the primary cause is rapidly escalating housing costs in middle-income households. The report states:
For decades, home prices generally rose at about the same rate as income, and homeownership became more widespread. But affordability is disappearing in high-income nations as housing costs now far outpace income growth. The crisis stems principally from land use policies that artificially restrict housing supply, driving up land prices and making homeownership unattainable for many.
The full report can be found here.
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