(WGHP) — Three North Carolina cities are among the cheapest to live in the United States with good weather, according to a recent ranking done by real estate data website PropertyShark.
Property Shark created the list of the 15 cheapest cities with the best weather by looking at US cities with over 150,000 residents and analyzing the cost of housing as well as the climate quality.
Homeowners were only considered for the list if they spent no more than 30% of their earnings on a monthly housing payment.
PropertyShark then factored in the number of days a year with clear skies, rainy days, windy days and days with extreme weather, which is temperatures higher than 90º or lower than 32º.
Charlotte ranked number one, and Raleigh followed closely behind in second place.
Charlotte got first place due to a moderate living cost, high-paying jobs, affordable housing and mild weather all year.
The median income in Charlotte is $62,817, and the median home sale price is $298,296, so the affordability index of 29%. This means residents only need to spend 29% of their income on housing.
Raleigh has a median income of $67,266 and a median home sale price of $230,250, so its affordability index is lower at 21%.
Charlotte also has fewer days of extreme weather than most other cities listed since only 46 days were above 90º, and only 63 were below freezing.
Greensboro came in at fifth place.
The list of all 15 is provided below:
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Columbus, Georgia
- Mobile, Alabama
- Greensboro, North Carolina
- Norfolk, Virginia
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Shreveport, Louisiana
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Tallahassee, Florida
- Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Birmingham, Alabama
