Just as prices vary worldwide, the cost of living in the U.S. can vary drastically from state to state. While the cost of living is exorbitantly expensive in Hawaii and New York, it's far more affordable in Nebraska, Michigan and Alabama.
GOBankingRates ranked all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia according to cost of living to determine the most and least expensive places across the country.
To determine the order, GOBankingRates evaluates each state and Washington D.C. on six factors critical to the cost of living, using data from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. These metrics include housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, health care and miscellaneous expenses.
All of the data is then indexed in comparison to the average cost of living in the U.S. to determine if each state is more or less expensive than average and by how much.
These are the 15 cheapest states in America:
15. Iowa
Housing: 18.6 percent less expensive
Transportation: 3.3 percent less expensive
Groceries: 4.7 percent less expensive
14. Georgia
Housing: 24.2 percent less expensive
Transportation: 6.7 percent less expensive
Groceries: 0.9 percent less expensive
13. Nebraska
Housing: 14.7 percent less expensive
Transportation: 6.2 percent less expensive
Groceries: 3.8 percent less expensive
12. Alabama
Housing: 26 percent less expensive
Transportation: 7.1 percent less expensive
Groceries: 2.3 percent less expensive
11. Missouri
Housing: 24.6 percent less expensive
Transportation: 6.6 percent less expensive
Groceries: 3.3 percent less expensive
10. Kentucky
Housing: 19.5 percent less expensive
Transportation: 2.6 percent less expensive
Groceries: 11.1 percent less expensive
9. Texas
Housing: 15.5 percent less expensive
Transportation: 6.3 percent less expensive
Groceries: 10.5 percent less expensive
8. Kansas
Housing: 22.6 percent less expensive
Transportation: 7.5 percent less expensive
Groceries: 6.4 percent less expensive
7. Tennessee
Housing: 22.5 percent less expensive
Transportation: 10.1 percent less expensive
Groceries: 7.3 percent less expensive
6. Idaho
Housing: 77.8 percent less expensive
Transportation: 6.1 percent more expensive
Groceries: 14.6 percent less expensive
5. Oklahoma
Housing: 23.3 percent less expensive
Transportation: 11.9 percent less expensive
Groceries: 7 percent less expensive
4. Arkansas
Housing: 22.3 percent less expensive
Transportation: 10.9 percent less expensive
Groceries: 7.3 percent less expensive
3. Michigan
Housing: 22.9 percent less expensive
Transportation: 2.4 percent less expensive
Groceries: 10.4 percent less expensive
2. Indiana
Housing: 24.2 percent less expensive
Transportation: 8.4 percent less expensive
Groceries: 7.6 percent less expensive
1. Mississippi
Housing: 31.6 percent less expensive
Transportation: 6.9 percent less expensive
Groceries: 5.4 percent less expensive
Don't miss: These are the 15 most expensive US states
