These Are The 10 Most Affordable Places In North Carolina

A wise sage once said “she works hard for the money” and these places in North Carolina definitely treat her right.

You see, these are the places in North Carolina where the cost of living is the lowest; where your salary goes the furthest. And when if you have the luxury of choosing where to live in the Tar Heel State, then the cost of living should play a role in the decision.

So we did the hard for you and crunched the numbers to find the cities that have lower food, energy, and housing costs. After the dust settled on our analysis of the 133 largest places in North Carolina, we were left with this set of the best value for your money:

1. Eden
2. Hamlet
3. Siler City
4. Rockingham
5. Ahoskie
6. Marion
7. Selma
8. Roxboro
9. Forest City
10. Tarboro

So listen up Summerfield as we explain how we created this ranking, you could learn some things from the rest of the state.

How We Determined The Most Affordable Places To Live In The Tar Heel State

There are basic necessities that you have to buy no matter where in the country you live. Those things include:

• Housing
• Food
• Gas
• Health Insurance
• Utilities
• Transportation

You can then compare the cost of these things in each of the places in North Carolina to figure out which is the least expensive.

What you are left with is a “Cost of Living Index” that normalizes to 100 for an average place in the United States.

So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 133 places in North Carolina that have more than 5,000 people.

And just so you can better understand how the cost of living index works, 100 is the average cost of a place in the United States. A score of 90 means that the place cost 10% less than average. A score of 90 means it’s 10% less expensive.

San Francisco has a score of 243 meaning it’s almost 2.5 times as expensive as the average place in the country.

1. Eden

Population: 15,488
Services: 96
Groceries: 96
Healthcare: 88
Housing: 52
Transportation: 90
Utiltiies: 80

2. Hamlet

Population: 6,554
Services: 97
Groceries: 100
Healthcare: 101
Housing: 51
Transportation: 100
Utiltiies: 110

3. Siler City

Population: 7,967
Services: 94
Groceries: 100
Healthcare: 99
Housing: 61
Transportation: 100
Utiltiies: 95

4. Rockingham

Population: 9,524
Services: 97
Groceries: 100
Healthcare: 101
Housing: 53
Transportation: 100
Utiltiies: 110

5. Ahoskie

Population: 5,074
Services: 104
Groceries: 91
Healthcare: 109
Housing: 56
Transportation: 104
Utiltiies: 85

6. Marion

Population: 7,997
Services: 99
Groceries: 102
Healthcare: 100
Housing: 52
Transportation: 106
Utiltiies: 92

7. Selma

Population: 6,125
Services: 100
Groceries: 100
Healthcare: 99
Housing: 56
Transportation: 99
Utiltiies: 98

8. Roxboro

Population: 8,400
Services: 112
Groceries: 102
Healthcare: 93
Housing: 56
Transportation: 88
Utiltiies: 110

9. Forest City

Population: 7,480
Services: 99
Groceries: 102
Healthcare: 100
Housing: 55
Transportation: 106
Utiltiies: 92

10. Tarboro

Population: 11,401
Services: 100
Groceries: 100
Healthcare: 99
Housing: 59
Transportation: 99
Utiltiies: 98

Detailed List Of Affordable Places In North Carolina

City	Rank	Population	Services	Grociers	Healthcare
Eden	1	15,488	96	96	88
Hamlet	2	6,554	97	100	101
Siler City	3	7,967	94	100	99
Rockingham	4	9,524	97	100	101
Ahoskie	5	5,074	104	91	109
Marion	6	7,997	99	102	100
Selma	7	6,125	100	100	99
Roxboro	8	8,400	112	102	93
Forest City	9	7,480	99	102	100
Tarboro	10	11,401	100	100	99
Thomasville	11	26,760	91	102	111
Lexington	12	19,038	91	102	111
Kinston	13	21,746	100	100	99
Wadesboro	14	5,795	97	100	101
Sawmills	15	5,200	97	100	101
Laurinburg	16	15,965	98	104	97
Henderson	17	15,389	97	96	101
Lenoir	18	18,171	99	102	100
Bessemer City	19	5,372	97	100	101
Roanoke Rapids	20	15,783	100	100	99
Clinton	21	8,640	100	100	99
Lumberton	22	21,595	98	104	97
Dunn	23	9,310	100	100	99
Reidsville	24	14,463	112	102	93
Kings Mountain	25	10,835	97	100	101
Asheboro	26	25,109	91	102	111
Graham	27	14,152	94	100	99
Shelby	28	20,331	97	100	101
Newton	29	12,991	97	100	101
Williamston	30	5,484	117	104	107
Rocky Mount	31	57,523	100	100	99
Cherryville	32	5,765	97	100	101
Goldsboro	33	36,738	100	100	99
Trinity	34	6,639	91	102	111
Albemarle	35	15,913	97	100	101
Whiteville	36	5,347	98	101	111
Spring Lake	37	12,465	100	100	99
Salisbury	38	33,548	91	102	111
Burlington	39	50,355	94	100	99
Butner	40	7,566	97	96	101
Oxford	41	8,518	97	96	101
Archdale	42	11,205	91	102	111
Lincolnton	43	10,536	97	100	101
Smithfield	44	11,118	100	100	99
Conover	45	8,118	97	100	101
Nashville	46	5,319	100	100	99
Sanford	47	28,081	100	100	99
Hope Mills	48	15,139	100	100	99
Morganton	49	16,932	99	102	100
Greensboro	50	270,619	94	100	99
Mount Airy	51	10,449	114	98	105
Wilson	52	49,086	100	100	99
Fayetteville	53	200,439	100	100	99
Statesville	54	24,803	97	100	101
Gibsonville	55	6,377	94	100	99
Kannapolis	56	42,845	97	100	101
Wendell	57	5,892	100	100	99
High Point	58	104,394	91	102	111
Gastonia	59	71,865	97	100	101
Greenville	60	84,445	100	100	99
Hickory	61	40,075	97	100	101
Mocksville	62	5,034	114	98	105
Mebane	63	11,502	94	100	99
Woodfin	64	6,044	99	102	100
Mount Holly	65	13,506	97	100	101
King	66	6,659	114	98	105
King	67	6,659	114	98	105
Winston-Salem	68	230,030	114	98	105
Edenton	69	5,037	117	104	107
Monroe	70	33,101	97	100	101
Waynesville	71	9,864	99	102	100
Aberdeen	72	6,311	100	100	99
Belmont	73	10,156	97	100	101
Pineville	74	7,562	97	100	101
Hendersonville	75	13,122	99	102	100
Clayton	76	16,078	100	100	99
Durham	77	229,963	97	96	101
Brevard	78	7,566	99	102	100
Concord	79	79,171	97	100	101
Garner	80	25,784	100	100	99
Washington	81	9,731	117	104	107
Fletcher	82	7,089	99	102	100
Black Mountain	83	7,885	99	102	100
Winterville	84	9,117	100	100	99
Charlotte	85	740,931	97	100	101
Knightdale	86	11,567	100	100	99
New Bern	87	29,420	98	101	111
Kernersville	88	23,062	114	98	105
Hillsborough	89	6,114	97	96	101
Havelock	90	20,670	98	101	111
Elizabeth City	91	18,645	117	104	107
Lewisville	92	12,785	114	98	105
Fuquay-Varina	93	18,143	100	100	99
Mooresville	94	32,462	97	100	101
Asheville	95	83,796	99	102	100
Jacksonville	96	69,393	98	101	111
Morehead City	97	8,720	98	101	111
Indian Trail	98	33,246	97	100	101
Raleigh	99	405,007	100	100	99
Elon	100	9,354	94	100	99
Stokesdale	101	5,002	114	98	105
Unionville	102	6,020	97	100	101
Boiling Spring Lakes	103	5,329	98	101	111
Mint Hill	104	22,890	97	100	101
Mills River	105	6,806	99	102	100
Stallings	106	13,638	97	100	101
Southern Pines	107	12,439	100	100	99
Harrisburg	108	11,360	97	100	101
Matthews	109	27,516	97	100	101
Clemmons	110	18,680	114	98	105
Holly Springs	111	24,663	100	100	99
Wake Forest	112	29,889	100	100	99
Waxhaw	113	9,743	97	100	101
Leland	114	13,732	98	101	111
Huntersville	115	46,656	97	100	101
Apex	116	37,589	100	100	99
Morrisville	117	18,566	100	100	99
Cornelius	118	24,818	97	100	101
Boone	119	17,261	99	102	100
Pinehurst	120	14,000	91	102	111
Wilmington	121	107,116	98	101	111
Cary	122	136,627	100	100	99
Carrboro	123	19,702	97	96	101
Chapel Hill	124	57,088	97	96	101
Wesley Chapel	125	7,462	97	100	101
Oak Island	126	6,899	98	101	111
Weddington	127	9,577	97	100	101
Carolina Beach	128	5,755	98	101	111
Davidson	129	10,903	97	100	101
Oak Ridge	130	6,202	114	98	105
Kill Devil Hills	131	6,714	117	104	107
Marvin	132	5,484	97	100	101
Summerfield	133	10,160	114	98	105