Mississippi rated most affordable state to live

A new report rates Mississippi as the most affordable place to live among the 50 United States.  

CNBC’s annual report titled, “America’s Top States for Business” placed the state number one for affordability. 

With price increases and supply disruptions spiking thanks to the economic effects from the coronavirus pandemic, cost of living became one of the 10 categories of competitiveness.

Information for the rankings came from U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, and average prices for selected items, based on the 2020 Average Cost of Living Index by the Council for Community and Economic Research, or C2ER.  

Mississippi became the top-ranked state for affordability with a 75 out of 75 cost-of-living score, a Consumer Price Index that rose 5.8 percent and an average home cost, using Hattiesburg as its center point, of $247,812. 

An average price for a gallon of milk in Mississippi was determined to be $2.37 and an average monthly energy bill in the state is $153.76.  

The 10 “cheapest states to live” study is posted on the CNBC website.  

Here are the top 10 states, as ranked by the CNBC report:

1. Mississippi
2. Kansas
3. Oklahoma
4. Arkansas
5. Missouri 
6. Alabama
7. New Mexico
8. Georgia, Tennessee

Indiana is 10th.

By contrast, the 10 most expensive places to live are: 

1. Hawaii
2. New York
3. California
4. Oregon
5. Massachusetts
6. Alaska
7. Maryland
8. Connecticut
9. Rhode Island
10. New Jersey

Another CNBC report is not as kind to Mississippi, as the state overall is ranked 45th in the country in CNBC’s Top States for Business rankings. 

The state is ranked seventh for cost of doing business, but is 37th in the Life, Health, and Inclusion category, is 41st in workforce, 42nd in economy, and 43rd in business friendliness. 

That rundown is found here: America’s Top States for Business.