GoBankingRates has released their “Most Livable Destinations List” and Laredo, Texas is ranked No. 1. Laredo in Texas is the number one city. Continue reading to find out what criteria were used and which cities also made the list.
In 2025 Pew Research Center surveyA majority of Americans believe that the economy is in a “fair” to “poor” state, and 63 percent mention “inflation” when asked about their main concern. GoBankingRates has some suggestions for you if this is also your main priority.
The website has released its “Most Livable DestinationsList, which includes 10 places you can enjoy a good life without earning a six figure income.
For this report, GoBakingRates first sourced the 50 best places to live from U.S. News & World Report’s “250 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2025-2026.” Then, the data from Zillow for April 2025 was used to determine each city’s monthly and annual average rent. It also looked at each city’s average annual expenses, including groceries, health care and utilities, as well as transportation. These were based off of the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023 Consumer Expenditure Survey.
GoBankingRates used the “50/30/20” budget rule to calculate the salary required in each location. Investopedia explainedHousing is included in the “needs” category.
GoBankingRates has named the top 10 banks in the United States based on their data. Laredo, Texas, thanks to the city’s low annual cost-of-living expenses of just $36,008 for homeowners and its salary requirement for homeowners of $72,015. The study also revealed that renters’ annual living costs were just a bit higher, at $36,888. And the salary required for renters is also a little higher, at $73,776.
McAllen’s affordability helped Texas take second place. The annual cost of living for homeowners in McAllen is only $36,287. The salary required for homeowners amounts to $72,574. The annual cost-of-living expenses in this city are $38,742, and the salary required for renters is $72,484.
The two Texas locations were joined in the top 10 by Moore, Oklahoma. This was followed by Midland, Michigan, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Springdale, Arkansas, Saint Peters Missouri, Eau Claire Wisconsin, Sioux Falls South Dakota, and West Des Moines Iowa.
“While each of these cities requires less than $100,000 per year to live comfortably, GoBankingRates notes that the salary required in all of them is above average.”
The article added that “the average salary in the U.S. amounts to about $67,000. However, you will need to earn more than $70,000 in order to live comfortably in top cities for renters, and over $72,000 in order to live in top cities for homeowners.”
You can read the complete report here gobankingrates.com.
