12 Most Affordable U.S. States: 2022

When Americans look for job opportunities in another state, they are often seeking a more affordable life at a time of soaring costs.

Lensa, a careers board, has identified 12 states where the average wage is at least 30% higher than the cost of living, and in several states, much more so.

This will come as good news to residents in the states Lensa found to be least affordable, where the difference between the average wage and living costs is almost laughably small — in a couple of states, the cost of living exceeds the average wage.

Lensa researchers analyzed data from the World Population Review to identify the percentage difference in each state between the overall cost of living and the average salary. In addition, they used to review’s index data for grocery, housing, utilities and transportation costs to assess each state’s affordability.

See the gallery for the 12 most affordable states, ranked by the difference between the cost of living and the average wage.