Red States Dominate Blue States For Affordable Living: Reports

Red states seem to have a huge edge over blue states when it comes to affordable living, as various reports suggest. According to the Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index, nine of the top ten most affordable cities in the United States are located in red states.

As if that weren’t enough, 18 of the top 20 are also in red states

“The index identifies the top metro areas for home buyers seeking an appreciating housing market, a strong local economy and appealing lifestyle amenities,” the Journal stated.

The list of the top ten cities includes, from #1-#10, Johnson City, Tennessee; Visalia-Porterville, California; Elkhart-Goshen Indiana; North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Lafayette-West, Indiana, Columbia, South Carolina, Columbia, Missouri; Raleigh, North Carolina, and Yuma, Arizona.

“Five of the top 20 markets in the third quarter were in Florida, including North Port in the No. 4 spot, Tampa at No. 11, Cape Coral at No. 12, Naples at No. 16 and Orlando at No. 18,” the Journal pointed out.

Last week, U.S. News listed the ten states as the most affordable states in the nation; all ten were red states. The list of the top ten states included, from #1-#10, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kansas, Alabama, Georgia, West Virginia, Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, and Tennessee.

The 2022 second-quarter Cost of Living Index report from the Council for Community and Economic Research listed the most expensive urban areas in the country. They abounded in blue states.  Manhattan, New York, was #1, followed by Honolulu, Hawaii, San Francisco, Brooklyn, Los-Angeles/Long Beach, California, Boston, Massachusetts and Washington D.C.

“The after-tax cost for a professional/managerial standard of living ranged from more than twice the national average in New York (Manhattan) NY to more than 20 percent below the national average in Kalamazoo, MI,” the report noted.

Last April, the American Legislative Exchange Council released the 15th edition of “Rich States, Poor States.” It issued an “Economic Performance Ranking “ based on state gross domestic product, absolute domestic migration, and non-farm employment numbers. The top ten states listed included, from top to bottom, Utah, North Carolina, Arizona, Oklahoma, Idaho, Nevada, Indiana, Florida, North Dakota and Wyoming.