E-Serve: Most Affordable Places To Live Well in Usa

1. Minneapolis
The "City of Lakes" is a case study in corporate social responsibility. A large variety of companies--from Target to Cargill--donate huge sums of money to the city's schools, cultural institutions and health services. This positively affects the quality of life and the arts and leisure choices. Housing and cost of living are both affordable, but aren't dramatically below national means.

2. Indianapolis
Based on the NAHB/Wells Fargo housing affordability index, Indianapolis has a higher percentage of homes available to the median-earning household than any other city. When it comes to arts and leisure activities, Indianapolis may not live up to standards set by New York or Los Angeles--it scored 30th out of the 50 biggest cities--but what is available has an affordable price tag: Indianapolis ranks as the 13th cheapest city to live in.

3. Cincinnati
The Queen City is one of the most affordable in the country, in terms of cost of living and housing. Median-earning residents here can afford 76.5% of the homes on the market. Not that they need it (it's the fifth cheapest city to live in), but housing affordability leaves Cincinnatians with plenty of cash on hand. The city is in the bottom half of Sperling's measure.

4. St. Louis
What makes St. Louis a desirable housing market isn't simply the 76% of homes that are available to the median buyer, but its relatively stability; The area isn't as bogged down in risky loans and defaults as other Midwestern cities. The Gateway to the West has a strong ratio of parks and restaurants to citizens, according to Sperling's, and is the 15th cheapest city in which to live, based on rankings of the top 50 cities by the Council on Community and Economic Research.

5. Houston
One of the country's fastest-growing cities, Houston has added nearly 1 million new people since 2000. Housing affordability and a strong job market seem enough to lure people from all over the country. The city has invested millions over the last five years in expanding infrastructure by adding trains, bolstering the downtown business district and funding the arts, which has helped to centralize--to an extent--the city, which has always been more famous for sprawl and oil. It also helps that on an everyday cost basis, among the cities we studied, Houston is the cheapest place to live.