NerdWallet, a personal finance website, recently released a list of the most affordable places in the nation – and the Augusta MSA is in the top 20. 

As the cost of living continues to rise, Americans are forced to squeeze their budgets more and more. To help inform the average consumer, NerdWallet used data from the Council for Community and Economic Research to find the nation’s most affordable cities. The overall composite cost of living score was based on the following categories: 

• Grocery items 
• Housing 
• Utilities 
• Transportation 
• Health care 
• Miscellaneous goods and services  

The Augusta MSA is the 14th most affordable place in the nation, scoring 87.1 compared to the national average of 100. The Augusta MSA also fell below the national average in all categories, receiving the following scores: grocery items (86.1), housing (73.5), utilities (97.5), transportation (92.1), health care (88.7) and miscellaneous goods and services (93.1). 

See the full list online.