1. California
   Arizona
2. Missouri
   Rhode Island

California is the most expensive state in this group, by a long, long way. Of course, it's a pretty great state if you like things like having a job and making a huge amount of money. If you're super ambitious, you may find it worth it.

1. Illinois
   New York
2. Florida
   Texas

New York is supremely expensive. Large cities drive up averages, though, and it's a large state, so you can get very affordable housing up around Ithaca or in the mountains. It just depends what lifestyle you want to live.

1. North Carolina
   Nevada
2. New Jersey
   Nebraska

If living in a state that starts with an N matters to you, then New Jersey is among your most expensive options. Nebraska is probably cheapest, unless you count North Dakota as an N-state!

1. Arkansas
   Maine
2. Montana
   Rhode Island

Rhode Island is small but some of it is very expensive. It can be hard to find affordable living anywhere in the state due to the number of built-up areas with very rich people in them!

1. North Dakota
   Vermont
2. Oregon
   Louisiana

Vermont is surprisingly expensive considering that it is quite rural. This is because of its location, economy and transport links to major cities.

1. Virginia
   Maryland
2. Georgia
   Washington

Maryland is only just the more expensive on average of these states, but that's because it has fewer larger rural areas. Virginia has more of these, which shifts its averages.

1. Connecticut
   Pennsylvania
2. North Carolina
   Michigan

Yale and a number of other world-class institutions can be found in Connecticut. If living near a very, very fancy school matters to you, you will pay more for the privilege!

1. Georgia
   North Carolina
2. Virginia
   South Carolina

Virginia produced a lot of the early presidents because it was very rich, and so were they. That meant they got to put the nation's capital within easy distance of their various estates, thus keeping prices high forever!

1. Pennsylvania
   Michigan
2. Ohio
   Florida

Florida has a number of very important cities and a very built-up coast. This means that, other than California and New York, it is the priciest of the well-populated American states.

1. Montana
   New Hampshire
2. Delaware
   Vermont

New Hampshire is small but mighty, and priced to match. It has higher rents thanks to its larger towns and multiple economic opportunities.

1. Massachusetts
   Maine
2. Pennsylvania
   Vermont

Thanks to Boston and other very old, very big cities, Massachusetts can get really expensive. In the Northeast, New York is worse (of course), but the Bay State is not far off.

1. North Dakota
   Texas
2. South Dakota
   Oklahoma

North Dakota had a shockingly high rental boom during the initial fracking rush but with lower oil prices, rents there are no longer skyrocketing. Texas, however, was already expensive, and has stayed that way.

1. Arkansas
   Kansas
2. Iowa
   South Dakota

Iowa is mostly farmland still, which means rents are not so high there. However the presence of a couple of bigger cities and good transit links to the rest of the Midwest means it's more expsenive than some places.

1. Delaware
   Washington
2. Ohio
   Oregon

These four states have some of the fastest-growing economies in the nation, with rates of growth over 3.5%. If you're looking for opportunity, they're a good bet - but the rent is high to match!

1. Arizona
   Florida
2. New Mexico
   Louisiana

Florida is not as hot as Arizona but it's a lot stickier. We'd say that's why you'll sweat more there, but it might simply be because you'll constantly be living in fear of the first of the month, due to Florida's very high rents.

1. Montana
   Wyoming
2. Colorado
   Utah

Colorado is the most expensive mountain state because of its big city, Denver, and its position on east-west trade routes. When it comes to price, it's really a function of accessibility in mountain areas. Wyoming and Montana are lovely but a lot of their land area is simply too hard to get to for trade to have made them expensive.

1. Ohio
   Illinois
2. Kansas
   Indiana

If you want to live in the Midwest and pay loads of rent, move to Illinois! More affordable options exist in Indiana, and a blend can be found in Ohio, Kansas and other places.

1. Arizona
   California
2. Texas
   New Mexico

It's California again! Of the border states, this one is by far the most expensive, though Texas has enclaves to match. If you want to pop over to Mexico regularly, it's your priciest place to live.

1. Oklahoma
   Florida
2. Utah
   Idaho

Florida bucks a national trend, as it is a swing state but also very wealthy. Generally, states with all-Republican governments are the less wealthy ones, with Texas and Florida being the exceptions. One upside is that if you want an all-Republican government, you have plenty of affordable options.

1. Rhode Island
   Washington
2. Connecticut
   Oregon

Again, it's not clear if this is cause or effect but generally speaking, states with Democratic government tend to be the wealthiest ones (or perhaps it's that wealthier states vote Democrat). As a result, they're commensurately more expensive to live in! If you want an all-blue government, Oregon is probably your most affordable option.

1. Maine
   Oregon
2. Arkansas
   Indiana

Oregon has a very nice Portland but it costs more money to live in than some Portlands. If living in a town named Portland is what you love, there are cheaper options, notably Arkansas.

1. New Hampshire
   Connecticut
2. Vermont
   Rhode Island

Connecticut is an unusual state as there isn't really anywhere genuinely cheap to live. It's very, very expensive to live on the coast or within commuting distance of New York City - and doubly so if you want both.

1. Virginia
   West Virginia
2. Maryland
   Delaware

Maryland is the most expensive state in this group due to the DC commuter belt. There are some areas that are so expensive they're basically major city prices, like Bethesda. If you live near a fabulous city like DC, you're going to pay accordingly.

1. North Dakota
   Maine
2. Montana
   Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a mid-price state, all else being equal, but it has centers like Milwaukee that are costly. It's the most expensive of these very chilly states!

1. Tennesse
   Georgia
2. Alabama
   Mississippi

The South is generally poorer and thus cheaper than the North. However, there's huge variance within the South. Georgia, home to major cities like Atlanta, is the most expensive state.

1. Washington
   Oregon
2. California
   Hawaii

California strikes again! Hawaii and California haven't appeared in a question together before, but while it's a close-run thing between the two of them, Cali takes the crown. If you live inland there, it'll be cheap, but there's no water, not much internet in places, and not many jobs, which is why the lovely Pacific coast has most of the people.

1. Louisiana
   Mississippi
2. Alabama
   Texas

Texas has some really, really cheap areas, but it also has multiple world-class cities like Dallas, Houston and Austin that pull the average up. If you want to live on the Gulf Coast in particular, it's up there with Florida as your most expensive option.

1. Kansas
   Oklahoma
2. Arkansas
   Louisiana

As home to New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and other important towns and cities, Louisiana has higher rent than its overall income levels would suggest. If living on the Mississippi is important to you, generally the ends of the river are more expensive than its middle section.

1. Indiana
   Illinois
2. Michigan
   Wisconsin

Illinois has some high rents and some good reasons for them; there are a lot of opportunities there. If you just like a big lake but you don't want to pay for it, we recommend Indiana!

1. Virginia
   North Caorlina
2. South Carolina
   Georgia

As we established earlier, being near DC makes your rent go up. Virginia is large enough that some areas are much, much more affordable, but if you want to be in striking distance of a job in the capital, you're going to pay for it.

1. Idaho
   Montana
2. North Dakota
   Minnesota

Minnesota is home to the Twin Cities, which pulls its average rent up, but there's still a lot of open space. If you want to smuggle things - or just take perfectly legitimate trips - over the Canadian border very regularly, it's a good choice!

1. New York
   New Hampshire
2. New Mexico
   New Jersey

You knew it had to be New York, didn't you? Yep, if you want to live in a state with "new" in the name but you don't like winter or paying rent, New Mexico is a better choice.

1. Arizona
   New Mexico
2. Oklahoma
   Arkansas

Arizona is the most expensive state on this list. We chose this parallel as it separates a large cluster of rather different states. It's also supposedly a common line along which to see UFOs!

1. Utah
   Colorado
2. Kansas
   Missouri

Colorado may be the perfect answer to the question of rent versus other quality of life issues. It has mountains! It has at least one major city where you can do almost any job! It has vast rural areas! It has small towns! If you like beaches, it has ... a really good airport.

1. Alaska
   Florida
2. Hawaii
   Texas

Hawaii is the second most expensive state in the nation, after California. If you want those magical beaches, you are going to pay for them.