The Cheapest Cities in the U.S.

While incomes in Harlingen, Texas are some of the lowest in the country, the cost of housing, transportation and groceries are low enough to more than make up for it. CC&ER looked at data from the 2010-2011 fiscal year. Cities like Pueblo, Colorado and Pryor Creek, Oklahoma topped their "cheapest cities" list, while Manhattan was the most expensive.

Venessa Wong at Bloomberg BusinessWeek writes:

"Housing, grocery, and transport costs are exceptionally low in Harlingen: over the year, monthly principal and interest payments for homes averaged only $847, a loaf of bread about 90¢, and a gallon of gas $2.65, reports the Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER). In Manhattan, the most expensive area, monthly house payments averaged $4,686 (more than five times as much), bread about $2.23 (about 150 percent more), and gas $3.148 (about 19 percent more)."