What are the best smaller cities pop 150,000 or less in the U.S. for jobs and cost of living ?

Public Comments

1. None.. At best, some township near a major population center might qualify in the population rankings of your question, but the cost of living will keep it out... Here is the problem.... Small population centers with an affordable cost of living that have jobs don't exists. The reason being is they don't have the talent pool of people to reach a critical mess that can create excess jobs. Even if such a town existed, the mass influx of people moving into that town to capitalize on that opportunity would quickly wipe out that utopia overnight. Nope. Sorry. You can have 1 or 2 requests granted, but not all 3.
2. Here's a cost of living calculator that you can use to research the cost of living in different U.S. cities: http://www.payscale.com/cost-of-living-calculator.aspx You can also use it to find median salary data for your job title in different areas. It's true that most smaller cities that have a lower cost of living also have fewer jobs. However, how this affects you will really depend on the field in which you work. I looked up the cost of living for two cities that have a low population and low cost of living - Lawrence, Kansas and Fayettville, Arkansas. Here are the results for Lawrence: http://www.payscale.com/cost-of-living-calculator/Kansas-Lawrence/- And for Fayetteville: http://www.payscale.com/cost-of-living-calculator/Arkansas-Fayetteville/- These are both "college towns," which affects the culture, population and economy for both areas. You can choose any cities that interest you and compare them to the cost of living in your current city. That is a good place to start in determining how your standard of living might change if you decide to move. Hope that helps and good luck, Assistant to Dr. Salary