You know it’s become extremely expensive to live on America’s coasts, that’s why when many Americans got the chance during Covid to work from home, they took their families inland to places where their paychecks went much further. For many, that meant the Midwest. In The Wall Street Journal, Jeanne Whalen and Paul Overberg discuss the allure of the region one quoted economist calls the “value play of the United States.” They write:
Residents in many parts of the Midwest have fewer reasons to gripe. The region has the lowest median sales price for existing homes in the country, at $319,400 in November versus $409,200 nationwide, according to the National Association of Realtors. Rents in major Midwestern cities are also lower than the national median, according to Bank of America data.
The bank defines the Midwest as Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
The Midwest has historically been cheaper than many other parts of the country, but the other side of the affordability equation is wages, and the Midwest seems to be winning on that score lately, too. Year-over-year wage growth has been climbing more steadily in the Midwest over the past year than it has in other regions, according to Bank of America deposit data.
Those wage trends, combined with more reasonable housing costs, have allowed Midwesterners of late to spend more on discretionary items than Americans in other regions, according to Bank of America credit- and debit-card data.
“It is the value play of the United States,” said Joe Wadford, an economist at the Bank of America Institute. “It is a great place to put down roots.”
This stretch of Wisconsin, along the Fox River from Oshkosh to Green Bay, is a particular bright spot. In the six counties around Appleton, Oshkosh, Neenah and Green Bay, just 1 homeowner in 7 spends more than 30% of their income on shelter costs, compared with 1 in 5 nationwide. About 40% of renters spend more, compared with half of renters nationwide. Manufacturing accounts for more than twice the share of jobs than it does nationwide, keeping average wages above national levels.
Action Line: Your Survival Guy is all for state-to-state arbitrage and finding greener pastures where your money is treated with the respect it deserves. Money goes to where it’s well-treated, and so should you. When you want to find a better America, start your search with Your Survival Guy’s 2025 Super States. And click here to subscribe to my free monthly email and be among the first to receive my forthcoming 2026 Super States release.
