15 Most Affordable and Safe Places To Live Across America: Your Guide to Budget-Friendly Communities

Finding a place that combines both affordability and security isn’t easy in today’s housing market. Yet across the United States, there are communities that successfully deliver on both fronts. We’ve identified 15 of the most affordable and safe places to live, where you can enjoy low crime rates without breaking the bank on housing costs.

This analysis draws from comprehensive data sourced from the FBI’s crime statistics, Zillow’s home valuations, the U.S. Census Bureau, and other authoritative sources. The research identified communities with populations of at least 10,000, then filtered them by both safety metrics and overall cost of living to determine which truly offer the best of both worlds.

Ohio Dominates: Why This State Has Seven Top Contenders

The most striking finding? Seven of the fifteen safest and most affordable places to live are located in Ohio. This Midwestern state has emerged as an unexpected hub for people seeking economical yet secure communities. From New Philadelphia in the east to Mount Vernon in the central region, Ohio communities consistently offer home values under $230,000 with annual living costs between $35,000 and $40,000.

Top Ohio Entries Include:

• New Philadelphia leads the list with an average home value of $186,258 and annual costs of just $35,549, making it the most budget-friendly option overall
• Parma Heights offers strong livability (71/100) with monthly mortgages around $1,163
• Berea provides excellent value at $220,573 average home prices with a 77 livability score
• Mount Vernon balances affordability with safety, featuring violent crime rates as low as 0.42 per 1,000 residents
• Hamilton offers larger community size (63,124 residents) while maintaining low crime and reasonable costs
• Brunswick and North Ridgeville complete Ohio’s strong showing with home values ranging from $300,000-$313,000 and solid safety records

The pattern across these Ohio towns reveals that smaller to mid-sized communities can provide exceptional value—where your mortgage payment might hover around $1,300-$1,600 monthly, significantly lower than national averages.

Regional Diversity: Beyond the Midwest

While Ohio dominates numerically, other regions of America offer their own advantages for those seeking affordable, safe living.

The South and Southwest:

San Elizario, Texas presents the most dramatic affordability case with an average home value of just $167,333 and monthly mortgages below $1,000. Though its livability score (62) is more modest, the violent crime rate of 0.10 per 1,000 makes it exceptionally safe.

The Upper Midwest:

New Ulm, Minnesota stands out with the lowest violent crime rate among all fifteen communities at just 0.29 per 1,000 residents. Combined with homes averaging $222,693 and annual costs of $36,361, it appeals to those prioritizing safety alongside affordability.

Indiana’s Hidden Gems:

Yorktown, Indiana provides a compelling middle ground with home values at $218,330 and competitive annual living costs of $37,332, serving as an excellent option for families seeking Midwestern stability.

Pennsylvania and Michigan:

Butler, Pennsylvania and Trenton, Michigan extend the list geographically. Trenton stands out particularly for its livability score of 86—the highest among all fifteen communities—suggesting residents rate their overall quality of life highly despite more moderate crime statistics.

The Northeast:

Orono, Maine rounds out the geographic diversity, offering a coastal New England option at $295,752 average home values and notably low violent crime (0.18 per 1,000).

Illinois:

Edwardsville, Illinois achieves the highest livability score (90) alongside reasonable home values of $302,677 and the lowest violent crime among higher-population entries (0.30 per 1,000).

Understanding the Data: What Makes These Communities Tick

The metrics that define “most affordable and safe places to live” deserve explanation:

Cost of Living Measurements: Annual costs factor in housing (largest component), utilities, groceries, transportation, and other essentials. Communities in this list range from $35,549 to $45,323 annually—well below the national average for mid-to-large metropolitan areas.

Crime Rate Context: Violent crime rates (ranging from 0.10 to 0.69 per 1,000 residents) and property crime rates provide different lenses on safety. Notably, several communities with slightly higher property crime maintain very low violent crime, suggesting different risk profiles worth considering based on your priorities.

Livability Scores: These composite scores (ranging 62-90) integrate factors beyond crime and cost—including schools, employment, recreation, and community character. High livability doesn’t always correlate perfectly with lowest costs, but represents overall quality of life.

Home Values and Mortgage Context: Average single-family home values guide your down payment requirements, while monthly mortgage estimates (calculated at standard rates) show your likely principal-plus-interest obligations before factoring in property taxes and insurance.

The Complete Ranking: Your Reference Guide

Key Insights: Patterns Worth Noting

Several important trends emerge from this analysis:

The Affordability Sweet Spot: Most communities in this ranking maintain annual costs under $45,000, with average home prices between $167,000 and $313,000. This combination remains remarkably achievable outside major metropolitan corridors.

Crime and Size: Communities in this list range from 10,123 to 63,124 residents. Contrary to assumptions, both small towns and mid-sized cities can maintain excellent safety records. Population size alone doesn’t determine security.

Geographic Clustering: Beyond Ohio’s dominance, Midwestern and Southern communities feature prominently, suggesting these regions offer better cost-of-living fundamentals than coastal areas.

The Livability Component: Edwardsville (90) and Trenton (86) show that the most affordable and safe places often feature strong community amenities, suggesting thriving local economies and engaged populations.

Making Your Decision

Choosing among these most affordable and safe places requires balancing several factors:

• Budget constraints: Does your down payment capacity align with these home values?
• Employment: Can you work remotely or does the community offer relevant job markets?
• Climate and geography: Do you prefer Midwestern winters, Texas heat, or coastal Maine?
• Community size: Do you thrive in smaller towns (under 20,000) or prefer mid-sized cities?
• Schools and family considerations: Check individual district ratings if education matters to your move

This research, based on 2025 data compiled by analyzing crime statistics from the FBI, housing valuations from Zillow, demographic information from the U.S. Census, and economic data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, represents a snapshot of America’s most promising communities for those balancing affordability with safety.

The 15 places identified here prove that the search for affordable and safe places to live can yield real results—you simply need to look beyond the major coastal cities where housing costs consume the majority of household budgets.