Did you know Augusta and Aiken are among the cheapest cities to live in the US?
We all know the cost of living is continually on the rise. So, finding a place to live with a low cost of living is a great thing! And surprisingly, Augusta and Aiken are among the cheapest cities to live in the U.S. according to a new study.
The team at Kiplinger.com put together a list of the cheapest cities to live in the U.S. They base this on the Council for Community and Economic Research’s (C2ER) calculations. They limit the study to “metro areas with at least 50,000 inhabitants.”
The cost of living is measured based on numerous factors: price of housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, healthcare, and miscellaneous goods and services (i.e. seeing a movie, going to the salon).
Augusta-Aiken, Georgia/South Carolina, or as we like to call it, the CSRA, came in at number 11 out of 25 of the cheapest cities in the U.S.
According to the study results, the CSRA’s cost of living is 16% below the U.S. average. The population in our area is just over 610,000 people with a median income around $55,000. The median value of homes in the CSRA are around $162,000. Our unemployment rate at the time of the survey is 3.5%
Of course, many associate our area with the Masters tournament, but this survey points out other great things about the CSRA.
One main thing that has brought major growth and notoriety to the area is cybersecurity, especially with the U.S. Army Cyber Command at Fort Gordon.
Augusta also serves as a regional hub for medicine and biotechnology. Augusta University is Georgia’s only public health sciences graduate university.
Despite the CSRA having many great, well-paid occupations, it still remains among some of the cheapest cities.