The COVID-19 pandemic led to a major shift in living trends, particularly with people trading big-city homes for more spacious and affordable areas. A National Association of Realtors report found that in 2022, more people left New York City, San Francisco and Chicago than moved to those cities, with affordability being the main reason for the shift.

Housing affordability also hit a historic low in 2022, with only about one in five (21%) U.S. homes for sale deemed as affordable, according to real estate company Redfin. Affordability extends beyond housing costs, however. Other cost of living factors — such as grocery and transportation — and how those compare to average income can make one area more or less affordable than another.

In this study, the Guides Team looked closer at affordability across U.S. cities in 2023. We ranked 223 of the largest U.S. cities by considering seven metrics: income, housing costs, transportation costs and other cost of living categories. Check out our methodology section below for more details on our data and sources used.

Click here to view the complete list.