If you’re a streamer your cost of living can have a dramatic impact on your ability to succeed in your business. For background on this article read this cost of living basics article I wrote recently.
In this article we’ll look at the best places for streamers to live based on cost of living and internet speed. I used data on cost of living from here and internet speed from here. Subsequently, I went in to specific city data from here. For each state I looked at the top 2 cities by size as well as all cities over 250k population.
Finally, I threw in some information on some of the common streaming cities to give a sense of how they compare on cost. I pulled the data for those cities from the same sources I used for the others.
Factors we considered
This analysis is solely looking at the cost of living and internet connectivity in each city and state on the list. I view those as the fundamental (and quantifiable) pieces that feed into a streaming career. When you see a number for cost of living that will be a comparison to the national average, represented by 100.
Some of the highspeed internet numbers might be surprising in this list. It’s largely the way it is because it’s looking at highspeed internet connection availability across the population. The states that come out high on that list tend to be lower population with a concentration of their people in cities that have major universities or hospitals which require strong access.
There’s a slightly paradoxical relationship between those two factors. The closer you are to larger cities the better your internet, on average. However, the closer you are to higher your cost of living, on average.
Annoying, huh?
Other factors to consider
There is a lot more than internet connectivity and cost of living that go in to choosing where you’ll live. Each person will have slightly (or dramatically) different preferences and priorities that make a place right for them to live. Here are some of the common ones.
Community
We’re humans. Humans are social animals. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to move because of the community you’ve built up at your current home. Whether it’s friends or family social interaction keeps us ticking. There’s no point in moving somewhere for the lower cost of living to spend the difference on traveling back to see people or therapy for your newfound loneliness.
Additionally, if you know you have a lot of friends in an area that is somewhere on this good places to move list that could bump it a lot further up the list.
Proximity to streaming opportunities
While it can be more expensive to live near places like LA, Seattle, or San Francisco there’s also a lot of opportunity for local gigs. Some opportunities are looking only for local content creators and you’re most likely to find those at big cities.
Additionally, it’s worth considering your proximity to local airports. While I loved living in Madison, Wisconsin it has a tiny airport. That meant that if I wanted to get almost anywhere outside of the Midwest I had to grab a connecting flight. That just makes traveling more painful. If you’re just a short hop from a hub of local opportunities that can make you a much more attractive candidate.
Job opportunities for spouses/partners
This one’s hard to quantify for every city except in a very general sense. If you have a long-term partner then some of these options might not make sense for you. After all, you can stream from anywhere with internet but you might not be able to do other jobs if you’re in the middle of nowhere.
Entertainment + the get out of the house and relax stuff
You shouldn’t spend all of your time inside streaming. That’s just not good for you. You’re a business owner where the thing that makes the goods is you. You need to maintain you to be a good business owner. Some of these cities might not offer much in the way of entertainment that you enjoy. It’s a part of why I kept the list to cities with a population of 250k or above but it’s not a guarantee.
Weather
It matters, I write from Southern California after previously living in Wisconsin. It matters.
Plus, it matters if your outside of streaming hobbies are weather dependent. You’re not going to get a ton of skiing in Las Vegas and not a lot of surfing in Iowa.
Other social factors
Each state is unique. For some people, that particular uniqueness could feel like home. For others, hell. If you’re someone who puts a big focus on political, cultural, food, or sports/team affiliation factors those could be things that disqualify a state.
That’s fine, but it’s on you to know what matters to you and weigh it against cost savings and your desire to be a full-time streamer. I can’t make that determination for you which is why these kinds of things aren’t included in the rankings.
State Ranking
| State | Raw Rank | Serial Rank |
| IA | 2 | 1 |
| SD | 8 | 2 |
| ND | 8.5 | 3 |
| MO | 10 | 4 |
| KS | 13.5 | 5 |
| MN | 13.5 | 5 |
| OH | 14 | 7 |
| PA | 14.5 | 8 |
| ID | 15.5 | 9 |
| UT | 17 | 10 |
Iowa
Based on the data, Iowa is third for cost of living and first for high-speed internet connectivity.
Iowa City
Cost of living: 101.3
Cedar Rapids
Cost of living: 92.6
South Dakota
South Dakota is eleventh in cost of living and fifth for high-speed internet connectivity.
Sioux Falls
Cost of living: 92.4
Rapid City
Cost of living: 101.1
North Dakota
North Dakota is fifteenth for cost of living and second for high-speed internet connectivity.
Fargo
Cost of living: 101.7
Bismarck
Cost of living: 116.6
Missouri
Missouri is tenth for cost of living and tenth for high-speed internet connectivity.
Kansas City
Cost of living: 87
St. Louis
Cost of living: 85.2
Kansas
Kansas is seventh for cost of living and twentieth for high-speed internet connectivity.
Wichita
Cost of living: 86.4
Overland Park
Cost of living: 111.3
Kansas City
Cost of living: 80.9
Minnesota
Minnesota is twentieth for cost of living and seventh for high-speed internet connectivity.
Twin Cities
Cost of living: 105.3
Minneapolis quality of life info.
St. Paul quality of life info.
Rochester
Cost of living: 101.1
Ohio
Ohio is first for cost of living and twenty seventh for high-speed internet connectivity.
Columbus
Cost of living: 84.3
Cleveland
Cost of living: 78.8
Cincinnati
Cost of living: 85.9
Toledo
Cost of living: 76.7
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is eighteenth for cost of living and eleventh for high-speed internet connectivity.
Philadelphia
Cost of living: 99.5
Pittsburgh
Cost of living: 88
Idaho
Idaho is twenty fifth for cost of living and sixth for high-speed internet connectivity.
Boise
Cost of living: 102.6
Meridian
Cost of living: 103.8
Utah
Utah is thirtieth for cost of living and fourth for high-speed internet connectivity.
Salt Lake City
Cost of living: 108
West Valley City
Cost of living: 96.5
Special mention: Cities in states with no income tax
| Anchorage, AK | 135.2 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 92 |
| Miami, FL | 122.8 |
| Tampa, FL | 94.1 |
| Reno, NV | 116.9 |
| Las Vegas, NV | 104.5 |
| Manchester, NH | 111.6 |
| Nashville, TN | 99.6 |
| Memphis, TN | 74 |
| Cheyenne, WY | 99.6 |
Special mention: Cities with a lot of streamers
| Omaha, NE | 88 |
| Chicago, IL | 110.9 |
| Austin, TX | 117.4 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 166.2 |
| San Francisco, CA | 272.6 |
| San Diego, CA | 166 |
| Portland, OR | 140.5 |
| Seattle, WA | 176.5 |
Conclusion
Your cost of living has a huge impact on whether or not you can go full-time streaming. This article covered a list of places in the US that combine low cost of internet and good highspeed internet coverage.
You don’t have to figure this out alone. This is what we do- help streamers make great money decisions. If that’s something that sounds interesting to you reach out me or schedule some time for a free consult. You can check out what I do here.
