CityFunIndex

Leaderboard

The most affordable cities

Every city in the CityFunIndex, ranked by affordability — from the lightest cost-of-living pressure to the heaviest. The affordability score flips our economic-strain measure, so the easiest city on a paycheck leads the board.

Cities ranked
134
Top score
100
Average
51

Pillar scores are national percentile ranks on a saturation curve, so the leader of every category lands near the same ceiling — the ranks beneath are still distinct. See how scoring works →

Bismarck (100) leads, ahead of Sioux Falls (99) and Billings (98). Hartford anchors the bottom at 7 — a 93-point gap.

Regional read The top 10 spans 9 different states — no single state dominates this board.

All 134 cities, coloured by affordability score band. The top-ranked cities draw larger.

  • Quiet
  • Some Fun
  • Fun
  • Very Fun
  • Exceptional

Score spread across all 134 cities

  • Quiet 40
  • Some Fun 26
  • Fun 27
  • Very Fun 20
  • Exceptional 21
  1. 1st 100 Bismarck, ND Fun Score 25
  2. 2nd 99 Sioux Falls, SD Fun Score 38
  3. T-3rd 98 Billings, MT Fun Score 59
  4. T-3rd 98 Virginia Beach, VA Fun Score 49

Ranked 5–134

  1. #5 97 Portland, ME Fun Score 100
  2. #6 96 Chesapeake, VA Fun Score 42
  3. T#7 95 Lincoln, NE Fun Score 70
  4. T#7 95 Gilbert, AZ Fun Score 31
  5. #9 94 Manchester, NH Fun Score 52
  6. #10 93 Boise, ID Fun Score 81
  7. T#11 92 Fargo, ND Fun Score 49
  8. T#11 92 Hilton Head Island, SC Fun Score 63
  9. #13 91 Jackson, WY Fun Score 92
  10. #14 90 Chandler, AZ Fun Score 42
  11. T#15 89 Charleston, SC Fun Score 91
  12. T#15 89 Scottsdale, AZ Fun Score 40
  13. #17 88 Raleigh, NC Fun Score 66
  14. #18 87 Plano, TX Fun Score 40
  15. T#19 86 Anchorage, AK Fun Score 34
  16. T#19 86 Omaha, NE Fun Score 63
  17. #21 85 Durham, NC Fun Score 62
  18. #22 84 Charlotte, NC Fun Score 57
  19. T#23 83 Austin, TX Fun Score 73
  20. T#23 83 Colorado Springs, CO Fun Score 56
  21. #25 82 Fremont, CA Fun Score 53
  22. #26 81 Nashville, TN Fun Score 63
  23. T#27 80 Park City, UT Fun Score 85
  24. T#27 80 Honolulu, HI Fun Score 88
  25. #29 79 Key West, FL Fun Score 71
  26. #30 78 Telluride, CO Fun Score 74
  27. T#31 77 Bend, OR Fun Score 79
  28. T#31 77 Gatlinburg, TN Fun Score 73
  29. #33 76 Des Moines, IA Fun Score 70
  30. #34 75 Fort Wayne, IN Fun Score 55
  31. T#35 74 San Francisco, CA Fun Score 98
  32. T#35 74 San Jose, CA Fun Score 64
  33. #37 73 Lexington, KY Fun Score 73
  34. #38 72 Mesa, AZ Fun Score 35
  35. T#39 71 Madison, WI Fun Score 96
  36. T#39 71 Denver, CO Fun Score 82
  37. #41 70 Santa Barbara, CA Fun Score 81
  38. #42 69 Irving, TX Fun Score 20
  39. T#43 68 Kansas City, MO Fun Score 72
  40. T#43 68 Irvine, CA Fun Score 62
  41. #45 67 Santa Ana, CA Fun Score 33
  42. #46 66 Indianapolis, IN Fun Score 52
  43. T#47 65 Oklahoma City, OK Fun Score 28
  44. T#47 65 Atlanta, GA Fun Score 89
  45. #49 64 Charleston, WV Fun Score 52
  46. #50 63 Aurora, CO Fun Score 34
  47. T#51 62 Henderson, NV Fun Score 14
  48. T#51 62 Wichita, KS Fun Score 20
  49. #53 61 Columbus, OH Fun Score 64
  50. #54 60 Seattle, WA Fun Score 100
  51. T#55 59 Napa, CA Fun Score 52
  52. T#55 59 Louisville, KY Fun Score 48
  53. #57 58 Reno, NV Fun Score 68
  54. #58 57 San Diego, CA Fun Score 76
  55. T#59 56 Santa Fe, NM Fun Score 63
  56. T#59 56 Santa Clarita, CA Fun Score 14
  57. #61 55 Boston, MA Fun Score 99
  58. #62 54 Fort Worth, TX Fun Score 20
  59. T#63 53 Phoenix, AZ Fun Score 41
  60. T#63 53 Minneapolis, MN Fun Score 85
  61. #65 52 Burlington, VT Fun Score 81
  62. #66 51 Montgomery, AL Fun Score 39
  63. T#67 50 Asheville, NC Fun Score 87
  64. T#67 50 Lubbock, TX Fun Score 32
  65. #69 49 Arlington, TX Fun Score 16
  66. #70 48 Anaheim, CA Fun Score 46
  67. T#71 47 Pittsburgh, PA Fun Score 89
  68. T#71 47 Garland, TX Fun Score 0
  69. #73 46 Portland, OR Fun Score 84
  70. #74 45 Little Rock, AR Fun Score 42
  71. T#75 44 Riverside, CA Fun Score 24
  72. T#75 44 Stowe, VT Fun Score 53
  73. #77 43 Jersey City, NJ Fun Score 37
  74. #78 42 Savannah, GA Fun Score 71
  75. T#79 41 North Las Vegas, NV Fun Score 6
  76. T#79 41 San Antonio, TX Fun Score 29
  77. #81 40 Oakland, CA Fun Score 66
  78. #82 39 Spokane, WA Fun Score 67
  79. T#83 38 Saint Paul, MN Fun Score 62
  80. T#83 38 Winston-Salem, NC Fun Score 35
  81. #85 37 Boulder, CO Fun Score 79
  82. #86 36 Albuquerque, NM Fun Score 41
  83. T#87 35 Aspen, CO Fun Score 67
  84. T#87 35 Corpus Christi, TX Fun Score 16
  85. #89 34 St. Petersburg, FL Fun Score 43
  86. #90 33 El Paso, TX Fun Score 28
  87. T#91 32 Bakersfield, CA Fun Score 0
  88. T#91 32 Birmingham, AL Fun Score 58
  89. #93 31 Greensboro, NC Fun Score 54
  90. #94 30 Tulsa, OK Fun Score 49
  91. T#95 29 Cincinnati, OH Fun Score 89
  92. T#95 29 Sacramento, CA Fun Score 57
  93. #97 28 Glendale, AZ Fun Score 10
  94. #98 27 Norfolk, VA Fun Score 50
  95. T#99 26 Las Vegas, NV Fun Score 36
  96. T#99 26 Washington, DC Fun Score 93
  97. #101 25 Richmond, VA Fun Score 90
  98. #102 24 Sedona, AZ Fun Score 49
  99. T#103 23 Laredo, TX Fun Score 9
  100. T#103 23 Orlando, FL Fun Score 69
  101. #105 22 Jacksonville, FL Fun Score 17
  102. #106 21 Jackson, MS Fun Score 25
  103. T#107 20 St. Louis, MO Fun Score 69
  104. T#107 20 Miami, FL Fun Score 56
  105. #109 19 Stockton, CA Fun Score 3
  106. #110 18 Cleveland, OH Fun Score 75
  107. T#111 17 Baton Rouge, LA Fun Score 30
  108. T#111 17 Dallas, TX Fun Score 38
  109. T#113 16 Long Beach, CA Fun Score 32
  110. T#113 16 Hialeah, FL Fun Score 18
  111. #115 15 Houston, TX Fun Score 39
  112. T#116 14 Tampa, FL Fun Score 67
  113. T#116 14 Chicago, IL Fun Score 59
  114. T#118 13 Tucson, AZ Fun Score 44
  115. T#118 13 Toledo, OH Fun Score 39
  116. T#120 12 New Orleans, LA Fun Score 64
  117. T#120 12 Fresno, CA Fun Score 22
  118. T#120 12 Los Angeles, CA Fun Score 40
  119. T#123 11 Providence, RI Fun Score 63
  120. T#123 11 New York, NY Fun Score 55
  121. T#125 10 Milwaukee, WI Fun Score 64
  122. T#125 10 Memphis, TN Fun Score 18
  123. T#125 10 Buffalo, NY Fun Score 74
  124. T#128 9 Philadelphia, PA Fun Score 45
  125. T#128 9 Baltimore, MD Fun Score 73
  126. T#128 9 Detroit, MI Fun Score 44
  127. T#131 8 Wilmington, DE Fun Score 49
  128. T#131 8 Bridgeport, CT Fun Score 41
  129. T#131 8 Newark, NJ Fun Score 30
  130. #134 7 Hartford, CT Fun Score 59

The affordability score flips a city's economic strain score — 100 minus it — drawn from Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment, HUD Fair Market Rent and US Census median income plus poverty rate.