Just came across this analysis of the cheapest place to live in the us and honestly, some of these findings are pretty eye-opening. Turns out if you're serious about finding genuinely affordable and safe communities, you might need to look beyond the usual suspects.

The research pulled data from the safest 150 US cities and then filtered for lowest total cost of living. What's wild is that Ohio absolutely dominates the list - seven cities in the top 15 are from Ohio alone. That's more than any other state, which tells you something about what's happening in the Midwest right now.

New Philadelphia, Ohio tops the list with an annual cost of living around $35,500. A single family home averages $186k, and monthly mortgage payments sit around $1,100. The violent crime rate is incredibly low at 0.69 per 1,000 residents. For context, New Ulm, Minnesota comes in second at $36,361 annually with even lower violent crime at 0.29 per 1,000.

What I found interesting is that you can still find the cheapest places to live in the us while maintaining solid safety metrics. San Elizario, Texas is another standout - homes average $167k with the lowest violent crime rate on the list at just 0.10 per 1,000. That's genuinely remarkable.

The bigger cities on the list like Columbus, Indiana and Hamilton, Ohio show that you don't necessarily have to go super small to get affordable living. Columbus, Indiana has over 51,000 residents but still keeps annual living costs under $41k. Hamilton, Ohio sits around $42,700 annually despite having a population of 63,000.

If you're actually hunting for the cheapest place to live in the us that doesn't compromise on safety, the pattern here is pretty clear - Midwest and smaller metros are where you find that sweet spot. Most of these towns have livability scores between 70-90, which means decent infrastructure and community quality alongside the affordability factor.

The analysis looked at violent and property crime rates from FBI data, home values from Zillow as of January 2025, and cost of living metrics from Census data and Bureau of Labor Statistics. So it's not just someone's opinion - this is actual data from early 2025.

If you've been thinking about relocating somewhere more affordable without sacrificing safety, these 15 cities are definitely worth researching. The cheapest options start under $36k annually, which is a pretty significant difference compared to what most people spend in major metros.