McDonald’s Corporation (MCD), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM): The 5 States With the Cheapest Cost of Living

2. Montana
Montana’s $16.68-per-hour living wage also fails to match up to the $7.25 federal minimum even for two-earner families. The mining and construction industries provide jobs that are sufficient to meet families’ income needs, although the typical farming, ranching, fishing, or forestry job doesn’t. Areas in the eastern part of the state have benefited from the influx of energy-related jobs, although costs have also increased, making it difficult for residents outside the energy industry to keep up.

1. North Dakota
North Dakota tops the list with a $16.62 living wage that again falls 13% short for families with two minimum-wage earners. Here, MIT’s database might not have the latest information, as towns in the Bakken shale play area still show low costs of living despite evidence that the influx of oilfield workers has driven up housing costs. As in Montana, high-paying energy-related jobs are ample to cover costs of living, but more basic jobs such as food preparation and sales are typically insufficient.

Moving toward a sustainable wage
With the four cheapest cost-of-living states in some of the most sparsely populated areas of the country, one might wonder why more people don’t move to those locations. Indeed, in areas where energy has taken off, influxes of workers have already occurred. Yet with relatively few jobs available in other areas, those states don’t have the capacity to solve the poverty problem on their own.

The article The 5 States With the Cheapest Cost of Living originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Dan Caplinger.

Fool contributor Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter: @DanCaplinger. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of McDonald’s.

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