Modesto is one of the most expensive cities in the US, Consumer Affairs says. This is why
Modesto is one of the most expensive cities to live in the nation, according to Consumer Affairs.
The customer review website recently released a new report ranking the most affordable U.S. cities to live in 2024.
Knoxville, Tennessee was the nation’s most affordable city with an affordability score of 38 out of 40, according to Consumer Affairs.
Chattanooga, Tennessee came in second place and Sioux Falls, South Dakota came in third place.
New York City was the most expensive place in the country to live in, coming in at No. 100.
Here’s where Modesto and other California cities ranked.
How affordable is Modesto? Stockton?
Modesto was No. 87 out of the 100 cities on Consumer Affairs’ list of the most affordable cities in the nation, with an overall affordability score of 24.2.
The city had a median income of $73,275 and an unemployment rate of 6.8%, the Consumer Affairs report said.
The tax burden per capita was $10,167.
The tax burden equals the state and local taxes paid by residents in a state divided by that state’s share of net national product, according to the Tax Foundation.
Another Central Valley city, Stockton, landed at No. 90 with an affordability score of 23.04.
The median income in Stockton was $76,231, while the unemployment rate was 6.8%. The tax burden per capita was $10,167.
Where did other California cities rank?
A total of eight California cities landed on Consumer Affairs’ list of the most affordable spots in the U.S.
Los Angeles was the most expensive place to live in the Golden State, according to the report, while Sacramento was the cheapest.
Below is the full list of California cities and their rankings on Consumer Affairs’ list:
- No. 86: Sacramento
- No. 87: Modesto
- No. 88: Bakersfield
- No. 89: Oakland
- No. 90: Stockton
- No. 92: San Diego
- No. 94: San Francisco
- No. 98: Los Angeles
What are the top 10 cheapest cities to live in the US?
These are the 10 cheapest cities in the United States to live in, according to Consumer Affairs:
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Austin, Texas
- Amarillo, Texas
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Huntsville, Alabama
- Boise, Idaho
- Raleigh, North Carolina
How did Consumer Affairs come up with its rankings?
To come up with a list of the cheapest cities in the United States in 2024, Consumer Affairs said its research team ranked 100 of the U.S. largest cities by an affordability score based on the following metrics:
- Cost of Living Index, based on categories including food, housing and utilities, according to the review website.
- Median household income
- Unemployment rate
- State-local burden by capita
Each of the metrics was ranked on a scale from 0 to 10, with 10 being the best score.
The Cost of Living Index was weighed twice as much as the other three metrics, Consumer Reports said.
Consumer Reports replied on data from The Council for Community and Economic Research, the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and the Tax Foundation.
This story was originally published May 21, 2024 at 2:02 PM.