15 Most Affordable States for the Middle Class
As cost of living expenses continue to remain high, many Americans that live in expensive states are considering moving to states where a middle class income can take them much further.
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To find the most affordable states for the middle class, GOBankingRates analyzed all 50 states across multiple factors — including average credit card balances, home values, monthly mortgage costs, car insurance rates and student loan payments — then found the annual income needed to be considered middle class by calculating debt payments as a maximum of 36% of income, as that is the upper threshold recommended by financial advisors.
In ascending order from 15th most affordable to number one, here are the 15 states where the middle class can experience an affordable cost of living.
15. Wisconsin
High End of Middle Class Income: $72,458
Low End of Middle Class Income: $48,305
Total Debt Annual Cost: $29,035.10
Average Monthly Costs: $2,419.59
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $80,653.07
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14. Pennsylvania
High End of Middle Class Income: $146,340
Low End of Middle Class Income: $48,780
Total Debt Annual Cost: $28,939.76
Average Monthly Costs: $2,411.65
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $80,388.22
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13. Illinois
High End of Middle Class Income: $156,866
Low End of Middle Class Income: $52,289
Total Debt Annual Cost: $28,922.84
Average Monthly Costs: $2,410.24
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $80,341.21
12. Missouri
High End of Middle Class Income: $131,840
Low End of Middle Class Income: $43,947
Total Debt Annual Cost: $28,555.05
Average Monthly Costs: $2,379.59
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $79,319.58
11. Kentucky
High End of Middle Class Income: $120,366
Low End of Middle Class Income: $40,122
Total Debt Annual Cost: $28,354.41
Average Monthly Costs: $2,362.87
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $78,762.26
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10. Alabama
High End of Middle Class Income: $119,218
Low End of Middle Class Income: $39,739
Total Debt Annual Cost: $28,301.91
Average Monthly Costs: $2,358.49
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $78,616.41
9. North Dakota
High End of Middle Class Income: $147,918
Low End of Middle Class Income: $49,306
Total Debt Annual Cost: $28,263.16
Average Monthly Costs: $2,355.26
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $78,508.77
8. Kansas
High End of Middle Class Income: $139,494
Low End of Middle Class Income: $46,498
Total Debt Annual Cost: $28,160.94
Average Monthly Costs: $2,346.74
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $78,224.83
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7. Oklahoma
High End of Middle Class Income: $122,728
Low End of Middle Class Income: $40,909
Total Debt Annual Cost: $27,384.63
Average Monthly Costs: $2,282.05
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $76,068.43
6. Arkansas
High End of Middle Class Income: $112,670
Low End of Middle Class Income: $37,557
Total Debt Annual Cost: $27,299.93
Average Monthly Costs: $2,274.99
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $75,833.13
5. Iowa
High End of Middle Class Income: $141,142
Low End of Middle Class Income: $47,047
Total Debt Annual Cost: $26,705.01
Average Monthly Costs: $2,225.42
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $74,180.57
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4. Indiana
High End of Middle Class Income: $134,346
Low End of Middle Class Income: $44,782
Total Debt Annual Cost: $25,310.99
Average Monthly Costs: $2,109.25
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $70,308.31
3. Mississippi
High End of Middle Class Income: $105,970
Low End of Middle Class Income: $35,323
Total Debt Annual Cost: $24,924.40
Average Monthly Costs: $2,077.03
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $69,234.45
2. Ohio
High End of Middle Class Income: $133,980
Low End of Middle Class Income: $44,660
Total Debt Annual Cost: $24,410.21
Average Monthly Costs: $2,034.18
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $67,806.15
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1. West Virginia
High End of Middle Class Income: $110,434
Low End of Middle Class Income: $36,811
Total Debt Annual Cost: $22,703.48
Average Monthly Costs: $1,891.96
Annual Income Needed To Be Middle Class: $63,065.24
Heather Taylor contributed to the reporting for this article.
Methodology: In order to find the states with the most affordable states for middle class, GOBankingRates analyzed all 50 states across multiple factors including; [1] average credit card balance by state sourced from LendingTree and multiplied by 1% to find the minimum credit card payments as 1% is the typical minimum payments required for most major credit card companies, [2] average single family residence home value for December 2023 as sourced from Zillow Home Value Index and using 10% as the down payment and using the [3] Federal Reserve Economic Data for 30-year national average mortgage the average monthly mortgage costs can be calculated, [4] average car insurance rates by state and recording the minimum payment required as sourced from CarInsurance.com, the [5] average student loan payments by state as sourced from LendEDU, and [6] median home income as sourced from the US Census American Community Survey. The monthly debt costs were summed and multiplied by 12 to find the annual total cost of debts. GOBankingRates then found the annual income needed to be considered middle class by calculating debt payments as a maximum of 36% of income, as that is the upper threshold recommended by financial advisors. All data was collected and is up-to-date as-of February 15th, 2024.
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