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15 U.S. Cities With High Salaries and Low Costs of Living

Say goodbye to financial stress in these affordable yet prosperous U.S. cities.

By Jenny Cohen

Edited by Chris Kissell

Updated Dec. 17, 2024

It can be hard to find an affordable city with high-paying jobs that will help you move beyond living paycheck to paycheck.

However, there are some gems where you can find both affordability and good pay. Check out a few cities to see if they might appeal to you.

All cost-of-living and median home price data comes from Redfin and is for October.

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Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis might be cold, but the job market is hot. This is a good place to find high-paying jobs and an affordable cost of living. The median home sale price is a modest $350,000, compared to a national median price of $432,849.

The area serves as headquarters for big companies such as General Mills, Best Buy, and 3M. Here, you should be able to find work that pays enough to let you crush your debt or build up your savings.

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Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville is home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, which brings high-paying science and tech jobs to the area.

The city is also relatively affordable, with the median sale price for a home coming in at $331,900.

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh makes up part of the Research Triangle in North Carolina. Three research universities are nearby, making the area an excellent place to find great jobs.

The median sale price for a home in Raleigh was $440,000. The city also has a cost of living that is 2% lower than the national average.

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Cedar Park, Texas

Austin, Texas, has grown in recent years, with more high-paying jobs moving into the area. Several cutting-edge companies call the city or nearby cities home, including Dell Technologies, Oracle, and Tesla.

However, Austin’s housing market can be expensive, with a median sale price of $548,250. So, it might be better to check out cheaper options nearby, such as Cedar Park.

Cedar Park has a median home sale price of $503,500. The cost of living in the city is also 8% lower than the national average.

Lincoln, Nebraska

Lincoln is home to the University of Nebraska and Nebraska Wesleyan University, making it a good place for academic jobs and other lucrative work to boost your bank account.

The city has a cost of living 5% lower than the national average and a median home sale price of $295,000.

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is on the Chesapeake Bay, and Naval Station Norfolk is the largest naval station in the world. That brings jobs that pay well to the area.

The median home sale price is $308,950.

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Aurora, Illinois

Aurora is about an hour outside of Chicago, and you can drive to the big city in around an hour if you find a great job there.

Then, you can bring back the dollars you earn to an affordable spot such as Aurora, where the median home sale price is $315,000.

Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington is another college town on this list. It's home to Indiana University, which provides many good jobs.

The city also boasts an affordable housing market, with a median sale price of $310,00.

Ames, Iowa

The parade of college towns continues with Ames; the city’s largest employer is Iowa State University.

Homes are affordable in the area, with a median sale price of $295,000. The cost of living in Ames is 5% lower than the national average.

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Bentonville, Arkansas

Bentonville is home to Walmart's headquarters. You'll find plenty of top-paying jobs at Walmart's corporate office and other businesses in the area.

It's also affordable to live there. The median home sale price is a bit high ($512,212), but the cost of living in the city is 7% lower than the national average.

Jefferson City, Missouri

Jefferson City is the state capital of Missouri, and there are plenty of top-paying jobs in government offices there. The college town of Columbia — home to the University of Missouri — is nearby and offers great jobs as well.

The median sale price for a home in the area is $232,500, while the cost of living is 16% lower than the national average.

Greenville, South Carolina

Greenville is home to the North American headquarters of Michelin Man, and the tire manufacturer provides some jobs with solid incomes.

The city also has an affordable housing market, with a median home sale price of $465,000 in October.

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Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the state capital of Wisconsin and home to the University of Wisconsin, which attracts good jobs to the area.

The city also had a 2.1% unemployment rate in August, which was below the national rate of 4.2% for the same month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Home prices are on the rise in the area, but you can still get an affordable house. The median sale price for the city is $408,000.

Midland, Michigan

Midland is the home of Dow Chemical Co., which helps boost the pay for jobs in the area. The city also has a mean hourly wage of $31.88, compared to a mean hourly wage of $31.48 in the U.S., according to the BLS.

The city is also affordable, with a median home sale price of $237,500.

Beaumont, Texas

Beaumont is a center of the oil and gas industry, so there are plenty of high-paying jobs in the area that can help you build wealth.

Homes in Beaumont are affordable, with a median sale price of $199,900. The cost of living is 7% less than the national average.

Bottom line

There are some great cities where you can get a good-paying job without having to turn around and spend all your money just so you can afford to live there.

The cities on this list can help you get ahead financially by offering the best of both worlds: affordability and great career opportunities.

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