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Situation married couple in their thirties earning less than 70,000 per year
Factors:
Taxes( income, property, sales),
Apartment cost
Food cost
Gasoline price
Health insurance
I was thinking Tennessee since i am a resident already there.( no state income tax but they have a food tax almost 10 percent, so maybe i pay less in income tax in another state with low income tax).
Has anyone written an article on this or done the research to know what the best states are?
I heard MS is the state with the lowest COL.Oklahoma,Arkansas,TN, Indiana,West Virginia, have low costs of living too.there are other cheap states too.
Alaska if you're really factoring in *all* states. They basically are paying people to move there as it's so isolated and of course cold.
In the mainland, Wyoming, Florida, New Hampshire, Texas, Tennessee, and South Dakota appear to have the lowest overall tax burden and most likely everything else.
The states I listed above, as well as Nevada, (surprisingly) Washington state, Pennsylvania, and Indiana look like that's where you'd get the most bang for your buck.
Alaska and New Hampshire = No sales, and no state income tax.
Gas tends to be cheaper further away from large cities/population areas, and that goes for pretty much every single state. Housing costs also depend on what part of the country you're moving to, and what type/size of city you're looking for.
Situation married couple in their thirties earning less than 70,000 per year
Factors:
Taxes( income, property, sales),
Apartment cost
Food cost
Gasoline price
Health insurance
I was thinking Tennessee since i am a resident already there.( no state income tax but they have a food tax almost 10 percent, so maybe i pay less in income tax in another state with low income tax). Has anyone written an article on this or done the research to know what the best states are?
MIT conducted a study for 2019 with the following results:
1. Mississippi
2. Arkansas
3. West Virginia
4. Tennessee
5. South Dakota
6. Alabama
7. Kentucky
8. Ohio
9. South Carolina
10. Indiana
Situation married couple in their thirties earning less than 70,000 per year
Factors:
Taxes( income, property, sales),
Apartment cost
Food cost
Gasoline price
Health insurance
I was thinking Tennessee since i am a resident already there.( no state income tax but they have a food tax almost 10 percent, so maybe i pay less in income tax in another state with low income tax).
Has anyone written an article on this or done the research to know what the best states are?
Earlier posts had some interesting links (a small quibble - the HomeSnacks link used data collected by MIT, it wasn't summarizing a study actually conducted by MIT, so some statistical/analytical rigor may have been lost).
Taxes are, of course, relevant. But remember some states have graduated, rather than uniform, rates.
Also, there are some things that you can't escape at the state level - sales tax, income tax - but other costs can vary significantly within a state: housing, auto/health insurance, for instance. So while it's tempting to look at those maps and their favorable or unfavorable color-coding, just think "there's [state] and then there's [state]." I'm in PA (Philly). If I lived a few ZIP codes away, in the 'burbs, I'd be paying much less for auto insurance but I'd have higher property taxes and would have to spend more on gas. You get the idea: it's complicated. The maps help, but you have to dig down to a much finer-level of geographic detail.
The other thing I'd consider is jobs and career. Moving to a less expensive state could have immediate benefits (more $ in your pocket), but think longer term as well. The new location will have to have employment opportunities for you (duh!) and potential for career growth. Move to an area that has openings now and has potential for growth.
Alaska if you're really factoring in *all* states. They basically are paying people to move there as it's so isolated and of course cold.
In the mainland, Wyoming, Florida, New Hampshire, Texas, Tennessee, and South Dakota appear to have the lowest overall tax burden and most likely everything else.
What? Alaska is like one of the most expensive states. Something like 130% of the national average in terms of COL.
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