5 affordable places to live if you don’t own a car

Let’s face it: owning a car is expensive. So, perhaps, I decided to look for a place that didn’t require a new affordable hometown.

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Considering that the average cost of owning and operating a vehicle in the United States is $10,728 per year, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, this decision will save significant cash.

In fact, the average annual cost of living in the US is $38,266, so it’s much easier to keep your budget under control by not owning a car. Of course, when you think of places where you don’t need a car to get around, New York City, Washington DC, and Chicago come to mind.

To facilitate this decision, GOBankingRates conducted a survey to determine the 5 most affordable places to live if you don’t have a car. All cities on this list have a lower annual cost of living than the US average. The monthly cost of living calculation includes public transportation, medical care, groceries, utilities, and miscellaneous expenses.

Here are five affordable cities to consider moving to if you don’t own a car.

5. Spokane, Washington

• 2022 One Bedroom Rent: $941

• Habitability: 67

• Monthly cost of living index: 98.6

• Monthly living expenses: $2,916

• Annual cost of living: $34,994

• Transit Quality Score: 6

• Monthly spending: $3,857

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4. Gainesville, Florida

• 2022 One Bedroom Rent: $964

• Habitability: 65

• Monthly cost of living index: 90

• Monthly living expenses: $2,662

• Annual cost of living: $31,942

• Transit Quality Score: 6.6

• Monthly spending: $3,626

3. Palma Heights, Ohio

• 2022 One Bedroom Rent: $906

• Habitability: 76

• Monthly cost of living index: 83.2

• Monthly living expenses: $2,461

• Annual cost of living: $29,529

• Transit Quality Score: 7.7

• Monthly spending: $3,366

2. Cincinnati

• 2022 One Bedroom Rent: $795

• Habitability: 68

• Monthly cost of living index: 86.8

• Monthly living expenses: $2,567

• Annual cost of living: $30,806

• Transit Quality Score: 6.8

• Monthly spending: $3,362

1. Des Moines, Iowa

• 2022 One Bedroom Rent: $776

• Habitability: 75

• Monthly cost of living index: 78.7

• Monthly living expenses: $2,328

• Annual cost of living: $27,932

• Transit Quality Score: Five

• Monthly spending: $3,103

Methodology: To find the best affordable places to live without a car, GOBankingRates first used apartment listing data to find (1) the average 1-bedroom rent for 2022. rice field. GOBankingRates then used Sperling’s Best to find (2) the overall cost of living index for each selected city. GOBankingRates then (3) used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2021 Consumer Expenditure Survey to find annual spending and determine the monthly cost of living in each city. GOBankingRates then totaled the monthly costs. Locations eligible for this study had to have (4) a livability score of 65 or higher by AreaVibes. (5) Transit Quality Score of 5 or above by AllTransit. All data was collected on October 21, 2022 and is current.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 5 Affordable Places to Live If You Don’t Own a Car