Family Life

07.16.09 | FL News Team

Okay, cheapskates and bargain hunters. Want to get the most house for your money in the community with the lowest cost of living? "Forbes" magazine says it's Manchester, New Hampshire. The former industrial mill town, population 402-thousand, is a refuge for those escaping the fast lane. "Forbes" looked at such factors at housing affordability and cost of living figures from Moody's Economy.com, as well as four quality-of-life measures. After considering crime rate, cultural opportunities, salaries and unemployment rates, "Forbes" compiled a list of the cheapest 100 places in America to live, and divvied up the list by region. And left-coasters are largely left out. Only two Pacific coast cities made the list -- Spokane, Washington at 72 and Modesto, California at 91. Ranking behind Manchester for the cheapest five are, in order, Ogden, Utah, the twin cities area of Minnesota, then Worcester, Massachusetts and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Syracuse has made the list of America's Top 100 Cheapest Cities. In "Forbes" magazine's list identifying the nation's "bargain boomtowns," Syracuse ranked fourth in the Mid Atlantic region and 21st nationally. The study used such factors at housing affordability and cost of living figures from Moody's Economy.com, as well as four quality-of-life measures. After considering crime rate, cultural opportunities, salaries and unemployment rates, "Forbes" declared Manchester, New Hampshire the cheapest city. The most-expensive of the 100 was Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas. Other New York cities making the list were the Albany-Schenectady-Troy region, Binghamton, Rochester, Buffalo-Niagara Falls, Glen Falls, and Utica-Rome.