Along with the freedom to work remotely, swaths of Americans have been taking advantage of the opportunity to leave the nation’s most expensive coastal hubs for greener and cheaper pastures. Although most renters have limited their moves to nearby suburbs, there are plenty of secondary markets with a great mix of amenities and affordability.
Springfield, Missouri; Fargo, North Dakota; Greensboro, North Carolina; Tucson, Arizona; and Grand Forks, North Dakota, topped Rent.com’s list of the 50 cheapest cities in America, with the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment barely surpassing $1,000 a steal compared to average prices in Boston ($4,728), New York City ($4,927) and Santa Monicao ($4,428) for a similar unit (recent report from realtor.com put the median two-bedroom rent in New York even higher, at $5,200).