This month, Realtor.com released its ranking of the top 10 cities with the lowest cost of living based on the latest regional price parities data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
The regional price parities measure the differences in price levels of goods and services across states and metropolitan areas and are shown as a percentage of the overall national price level, the BEA states.
Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, tells CNBC Make It that it’s no coincidence that most of the cities on the list are in the South and the Midwest.
“A big piece of that is housing. Home prices tend to be lower in the South and the Midwest,” Jones says.
“Markets in the South and the Midwest can expand as demand picks up, which helps keep housing costs low. The price of housing is relatively affordable because of their ability to adapt …