Penny for Your Thoughts? Quad Cities is the 4th Cheapest Place to Live in U.S.
U.S. News, which recently named the QC as one of the best places to live in the U.S., ranks us as the 4th most affordable place to live in the country.
My first thought: are we sure though??
But apparently, the study by U.S. News looked at median gross rent as well as annual housing costs for mortgage-paying homeowners in the city's metro area.
The QCA ranks 4th in Most Affordable Places to live in the country. Out of a 10-point system, the study gave it an overall score of 6.3, a quality of life of 6.5, and a value of 8.4.
It has some other rankings with U.S. News too:
- 53rd in Best Places to Live
- 105th in Best Places to Retire
To come up with the list, U.S. News looked at job markets, qualities of life, affordabilities, and even people's desires to live there of 150 metro areas in the country.
The study had this to say about the cost of living in the QCA:
The Quad Cities are affordable on both sides of the river. Both Iowa and Illinois have average home prices lower than the national average, and Davenport, Moline and Rock Island have average home prices lower than the state averages. While property prices are good, both states have high taxes.
For QCA-specific details on U.S. News' study, click here. By the way, the study does list East Moline as being the 5th city to complete the Quad Cities.
Also on the list is Des Moines, which comes in at 12th.