Study ranks Bakersfield as nation's most affordable city to live

There's no more affordable place to live in the entire country than Bakersfield, according to a new ranking out Wednesday.

Based on how many hours a person has to work at a minimum-wage job to pay rent and utilities, the city edged out No. 2 Fresno and No. 3 Toledo, Ohio.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, San Francisco came in as the most unaffordable place in the United States, followed by Irvine and New York City.

The list was released by professional-moving website Move.org, which found Bakersfield residents earning the minimum wage of $11 per hour need to work just 20 hours per week to pay the $725 average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment plus utilities averaging $208.18.

San Francisco's distinction as the country's least-affordable city was based on a determination that someone making the same minimum wage would need to work 56 hours per week to cover the one-bedroom average rent of $2,464 plus $183.31 for utilities.

Here's a link to the report's findings: https://www.move.org/least-livable-us-cities-for-minimum-wage-earners/

John Cox can be reached at 661-395-7404. Follow him on Twitter: @TheThirdGraf. Sign up at Bakersfield.com for free newsletters about local business.

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