Richmond ranks third out of 254 urban areas nationwide when six categories were compared in a year-end Cost of Living Index review.
Economic Development Corp. of Wayne County discussed the latest ranking at their Feb. 3 board meeting.
EDC staff gather and submit prices for 61 different items related to housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services.
Council for Community and Economic Research analyzes the data. The latest report averages prices accumulated from the previous three quarters.
Richmond consistently ranks in the top 15 least expensive micropolitans, EDC staff say. For instance, Wayne County also finished third on C2ER’s 2018 annual index, beating communities such as Memphis and Knoxville, Tennessee, and Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Decatur, Illinois, and Ponca City, Oklahoma, narrowly surpassed Richmond for the list’s latest top spot. Others on the 10 least expensive list included Pittsburg, Kansas; Harlingen, Texas; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Tupelo, Mississippi; Benton Harbor, Michigan; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Kokomo, Indiana.
New York (Manhattan)’s cost of living is more than twice the national average, and Decatur’s was more than 20% below the national average.
C2ER says its index is the most trusted resource for historical and current cost of living data since 1968. For more information on methodology, visit coli.org.
Throughout the year, EDC’s website offers a local cost of living calculator to help residents of various cities see how far their dollars would stretch here. It notes that Wayne County’s cost of living is 20% cheaper than the national average.
Workers can enter their current base salary at their current community and then select Richmond.
EDC employees call the calculator at whywaynecounty.com/living-in-wayne-county/cost-of-living/ a great marketing tool for recruitment.
A version of this article appeared in the February 12 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.