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 →

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

Regional read The top 10 spans 10 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 Jackson, WY Fun Score 87
  2. 2nd 99 Telluride, CO Fun Score 77
  3. T-3rd 98 Bismarck, ND Fun Score 26
  4. T-3rd 98 Sioux Falls, SD Fun Score 40

Ranked 5–134

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

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.